China Industrial Output Rises Less Than Forecast; Retail Sales Growth Accelerates

(RTTNews) - China industrial production growth slowed unexpectedly in October and the decline in property investment deepened but retail sales growth accelerated as recent stimulus measures strengthened consumer sentiment.

Industrial production posted an annual growth of 5.3 percent in October after rising 5.4 percent in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday. The slowdown in growth was unexpected as output was forecast to climb 5.5 percent.

Meanwhile, retail sales advanced at a faster pace of 4.8 percent after rising 3.2 percent in the previous month. This was the fastest growth since February and also exceeded economists' forecast of 3.8 percent.

During January to October, fixed asset investment climbed 3.4 percent, the same pace of growth as reported in the January to September period. Economists had forecast an annual increase of 3.5 percent.

Data showed a sharp 10.3 percent decline in property investment after a 10.1 percent fall in the nine months to September.

Economists at Capital Economics said unless recent policy tweaks are followed by substantial fiscal easing next year, the boost is likely to be short-lived.

The economy will start to slow again by the second half of next year, by which point Chinese manufacturers will also be facing the additional headwind of a second trade war with Trump, economists added.