Profits at China’s industrial firms grew at their quickest pace in half a year last month, adding to broader signs of an uneven economic recovery in the first quarter as policymakers brace for the impact of the Middle East war, Reuters reports.

The country’s export engine stuttered last month while retail sales and industrial output cooled, although producer prices emerged from a years-long deflationary stretch, a shift that analysts warn could leave companies boxed in by rising costs but limited pricing power as demand remains fragile.

“The data has likely not reflected the impact of the Iran war yet,” said Lynn Song, ING’s chief economist for Greater China, underscoring growing risks to growth at home and abroad from the conflict as governments and businesses scramble to soften the blow.