FILE PHOTO: A worker wearing a face mask works on a production line manufacturing bicycle steel rim at a factory, as the country is hit by the novel coronavirus outbreak, in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province, China March 2, 2020. China Daily via REUTERS/File Photo
BEIJING: China’s industrial output rose 3.1 per cent in September from a year earlier, missing expectations, and slowing from 5.3 per cent in August, official data showed on Monday (Oct 18).
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected output to rise 4.5 per cent.
Retail sales grew 4.4 per cent in September on-year, compared with a forecast 3.3 per cent increase and a 2.5 per cent rise in August.
Fixed asset investment increased 7.3 per cent in the first nine months from the same period a year earlier, missing expectations for a 7.9 per cent rise and slowing from an 8.9 per cent jump in January-August.
China’s economy has staged an impressive rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic but has recently shown signs of losing momentum, weighed down by power shortages, supply bottlenecks, sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks and regulatory crackdowns on sectors from tech to property.