The earthquake that hit China's southwest Sichuan Province on Saturday may cause direct economic losses of more than 10 billion yuan (US$1.6 billion), economists estimate.

The quake, centered around Ya'an City, may have limited impact on China's overall economic growth, economists from Barclays said today.

In comparison, the devastating Wenchuan earthquake in Sichuan in 2008 - which left 87,000 people dead or missing - led to direct losses of 845 billion yuan.

"We project the Ya'an earthquake will delay developers' construction progress and hurt home buyer's confidence," said Wendy Luo, an economist at Barclays.

"Therefore, it will drag developers' presale and earning delivery in Sichuan Province," she added.

Luo said that the housing authority may demand developers suspend construction during relief work, leading to construction delays.

Chang Jian, another economist at Barclays, said the earthquake could generate some uncertainties but the overall economic impact should be limited.

Ya'an is renowned as home of the panda, not as a major manufacturing or services area.

"However, the government has been taking measures to stabilize growth by increasing spending on infrastructure investment, in line with a growth target that is much lower than before," Chang said.

The death toll from Saturday's earthquake yesterday stood at 193, with 11,000 injured.