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Rail freight volume declines less

The pace of decline in China's national rail freight volumes, an indicator of economic activity, narrowed in the first five months of 2016 as the economy showed signs of stabilization, according to official data. Rail freight volumes for the first five months fell 7.7 percent year-on-year to 1.318 billion metric tons, compared with a 7.9 percent drop in the first four months, according to the National Development and Reform Commission. Railways carried 270 million tons of cargo in May, down 7 percent year-on-year. In the first five months, industrial output grew 5.9 percent, up from 5.8 percent registered during the January-April period.