China home price growth eases for 4th straight month

Beijing

CHINA'S home price growth slowed for the fourth straight month as demand cooled further in its biggest cities, a welcome sign for policymakers as they seek to defuse bubbles in the world's second-largest economy amid an explosive growth in debt.

Over the past year, the authorities have slapped curbs on China's property sector - a major contributor to the broader economy - as the concentration of price surges in the country's wealthiest cities stoked fears of a nasty crash.