China’s June industrial output rises 4.4%, retail sales up 3.1%

A laborer piles up steel pipes at a steel and iron factory in Shenyang, Liaoning province. REUTERS/Sheng Li/File Photo

BEIJING  – China’s industrial output grew 4.4 percent in June from a year earlier, unexpectedly accelerating from 3.5 percent seen in May, but demand remains lukewarm amid a bumpy post-COVID economic recovery.

The data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday came above expectations for a 2.7 percent increase in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Retail sales grew 3.1 percent in June, slowing from a 12.7- percent jump in May. Analysts had expected growth of 3.2 percent.

Fixed asset investment expanded 3.8 percent in the first six months of 2023 from the same period a year earlier, versus expectations for a 3.5- percent rise. It grew 4 percent in the January-May period.

China’s post-pandemic economic recovery has slowed sharply after a brisk start in the first quarter, with the central bank pledging more support to boost activity and consumer and business confidence.

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