Shanghai's gross domestic product rose 10.3 percent in the first half this year to 657.4 billion yuan (US$96.4 billion), down 2.7 percentage points from the same period last year.

The city's economy expanded stably, but the pace has slowed because of natural disasters, the rising costs of energy and raw materials on the international market and increasing producer prices, said a statement on the Website of Shanghai Municipality today.

Shanghai's GDP grew 11.5 percent in the first quarter, 1.1 percentage points lower than a year earlier. It was the start of a moderate slowdown in line with the national economy.

The National Bureau of Statistics is set to announce the national economic data tomorrow while many economists estimate that the country's GDP growth will ease to around 10.5 percent in the first half from last year's 11.9 percent.

"Shanghai faces less pressure compared to other areas such as Guangdong Province and Zhejiang Province, where export-oriented or small- and medium-sized enterprises dominate. They are suffering more from the yuan's fast appreciation and rising labor costs," said Li Maoyu, an analyst with Changjiang Securities Co.

The city's industrial output continued double-digit growth in the first half, led by six key sectors -- electronics, autos, fine steel, petrochemical processing, equipment and biomedicine. Based on a preliminary calculation, they increased 18.9 percent, 9.2 percent, 9.3 percent, 23.9 percent, 21.5 percent and 17.9 percent respectively.

Retail sales in the city also expanded more than 16 percent in the first half, with industrial exports gaining around 18 percent from a year earlier.

Zhou Minhao, secretary general of the Shanghai Economic Committee, said the city would have to weather two major difficulties in the second half this year. He said shrinking profit margins due to even higher porducer prices would hurt companies and that less industrial investment may put a dent in growth momentum.

(Shanghai Daily July 16, 2008)