China's Industrial Output Growth Tops Forecast; Retail Sales Growth Eases
15 May 2018 - 11:54AM
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China's industrial production growth improved more than expected
in April, while retail sales and fixed asset investment grew at
slower rates reflecting softer growth momentum.
Industrial production growth accelerated to 7 percent in April
from 6 percent in March, the National Bureau of Statistics reported
Tuesday. The rate also exceeded the expected 6.4 percent.
Retail sales grew 9.4 percent year-on-year in April, slower than
the 10.1 percent increase seen in March. Sales were forecast to
climb 10 percent.
Another report from NBS showed that fixed asset investment
climbed 7 percent during January to April following 7.5 percent
increase in three months to March. This was also slower than the
7.4 percent rise economists had forecast.
In January to April period, property investment rose 10.3
percent compared to 10.4 percent increase in the first quarter.
Industrial activity was buoyed last month by the easing of
pollution controls, Julian Evans-Pritchard, an economist at Capital
Economics, said. But there are signs in the rest of today's data
that the broader economy is losing momentum.
Looking ahead, domestic spending is likely to continue to soften
given the headwinds from slowing credit creation, the economist
added. The recent resilience of industrial activity is likely to
prove temporary, Evans-Pritchard noted.
Data showed that the urban unemployment rate dropped to 4.9
percent in April from 5.1 percent in March.
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