Anika Begay
BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s industrial production rose 5.1% in July from a year earlier, but slowed from June’s 5.3% pace, reflecting sluggish domestic demand that could prompt more policy support to prop up the country’s uneven economic recovery.
Official data released on Thursday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) missed expectations for a 5.2 percent increase, according to a Reuters poll of 42 analysts.
However, retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 2.7% in July, accelerating from a 2.0% increase in June. Analysts had expected retail sales to rise 2.6%.
Fixed asset investment grew 3.6% in the first seven months of 2024 from the same period a year earlier, compared with a forecast of 3.9%. It grew 3.9% in the period from January to June.
A recent series of depressing indicators point to a difficult start to the second half of the year and have intensified calls for further growth stimulus measures for the $19 trillion economy. For now, the government is still targeting economic growth of around 5% for 2024.
