Factory output grew slower than expected at an annual 5.6 per cent in October, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Wednesday, missing a Reuters forecast of 5.8 per cent and down from 5.7 per cent in September.
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September’s rise undershot a median 5.8% gain forecast by 11 economists in a survey by The Wall Street Journal.
China’s industrial production and investment slowed further in October, showing the government’s pro-growth measures are yet to revive the nation’s old economic engines.
‘The industrial economy is still facing downward pressures looking forward, ‘ it said.
But retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending, held up well for the month, growing 11.0 per cent from a year earlier – the fastest increase since a rise of 11.9 per cent in December last year, according to the NBS.
China’s leaders are seeking to transition from an investment-driven, manufacturing-dominated economy to a more consumption and services-led one in the next five years while maintaining growth of at least 6.5 per cent a year. Growth in investment edged down to 10.2 percent for the first 10 months of the year from the 10.3 percent in the first nine months.
A cooling property market has weighed heavily on China’s economy over the past year.
Economic growth decelerated to a six-year low of 6.9 percent in the latest quarter despite six interest rate cuts since last November.
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It was also slightly better than the median estimate of a 10.9 percent expansion in the Bloomberg poll.
