China’s factory output rose 6 per cent in July compared with the year before, missing market forecasts and reinforcing expectations that the economy is in need of fresh stimulus to prevent a deeper slowdown.
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On Wednesday, official data showed that there was a slow growth in the July industrial production figures of China.
Softer demand caused by slowing Chinese economic growth has pushed steel prices down 26 percent so far this year, plunging many mills into the red and forcing them to cut output or ship more to overseas markets.
The People’s Bank of China surprised markets on Tuesday by devaluing the yuan by nearly 2 percent, and vowing to refer to more market based valuations in setting the daily trading band for the closely-managed currency.
And fixed asset investment, a measure of government spending on infrastructure, expanded 11.2 percent on-year in the January-July period.
The NBS reported that between January to July property investment grew by just 4.3% compared to a year earlier, down on the 4.6% level recorded in the first half of the year. Real estate investment, which directly affects about 40 other business sectors in China, is considered to be a crucial growth driver.
Despite the deceleration in investment, total floor space sold accelerated to 6.1% from 3.9% in the six months to June.
The data came as China’s economy has continued to slow in 2015 after growing last year at 7.4%, its weakest pace in almost a quarter of a century. This adds signals at a sluggish economy in the second-largest economy of the world.
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Retail sales rose 10.5 percent in July from the year earlier, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, below the 10.6 percent rise forecast in a Reuters poll and following June’s 10.6 percent rise.
