China Industrial Production Growth Lower Than Expected
The latest figures add to signs of weakness in the Chinese economy
BEIJING—China’s industrial production grew at a lower-than-expected pace, official data showed on Sunday, adding to signs of weakness in the world’s second-largest economy.
Value-added industrial output in China rose 6.1% in August from a year earlier, accelerating from a 6.0% year-over-year increase in July, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, but undershot the median 6.6% gain forecast by 12 economists in a survey by The Wall Street Journal.
Industrial production also increased 0.53% in August from July. In July, it rose 0.32% from the preceding month.
Fixed-asset investment in non-rural areas of China rose 10.9% in the January-August period compared with the same period a year earlier.
The rise was also slower than the 11.2% increase recorded in the January-July period. It also undershot the economists’ median forecast of an 11.2% gain.
Retail sales in China increased 10.8% in August from a year earlier, accelerating from a 10.5% year-over-year increase in July and coming in higher than the 10.7% forecast by economists.