BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s October industrial output grew 5.3% from a year earlier, slowing from September’s pace of 5.4%, reflecting concern about confidence and demand woes confronting a sluggish economy and keeping alive calls for even more stimulus.
Data released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics missed expectations for a rise of 5.6% in a Reuters poll of 43 analysts.
Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, grew 4.8% in October, up from a 3.2% increase in September. Analysts had forecast retail sales to expand 3.8%.
Fixed asset investment rose 3.4% in the first 10 months of 2024 from the year-earlier period, compared with an expected rise of 3.5%. It grew 3.4% in the period from January to September.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao, Joe Cash and Ethan Wang; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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