BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s industrial output grew 4.6% in October year-on-year, speeding from 4.5% in September, while retail sales growth beat expectations, an encouraging sign for an economy still showing significant pockets of weakness despite a flurry of support measures.
The data on output released on Wednesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came above expectations for a 4.4% increase in a Reuters poll of analysts. It also marked the strongest growth since April.
Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 7.6% in October, accelerating from a 5.5% increase in September. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 7.0%.
Fixed asset investment expanded 2.9% in the first 10 months of 2023 from the same period a year earlier, missing expectations for a 3.1% rise. It grew 3.1% in the January-September period.
(Reporting by Albee Zhang, Ellen Zhang and Kevin Yao; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
