China's March industrial output up 6.0%, misses expectations

[BEIJING] China's industrial output grew 6.0 per cent in March from a year earlier, missing expectations, while fixed-asset investment growth slowed to 7.5 per cent in the first quarter, also below forecasts, data showed on Tuesday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted industrial output growth would cool to 6.2 per cent from 7.2 per cent in the first two months of the year.

Investment growth had also been expected to ease, to 7.6 per cent in the first three months of the year, from 7.9 per cent in January-February.

Private-sector fixed-asset investment rose 8.9 per cent in January-March, compared with an increase of 8.1 per cent in the first two months, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday.

Private investment accounts for about 60 per cent of overall investment in China.

Retail sales rose 10.1 per cent in March from a year earlier, beating expectations of an increase of 9.9 per cent, compared with a rise of 9.7 per cent in the first two months.

The government has set an economic growth target of around 6.5 per cent this year, the same goal as in 2017. Actual growth last year came in much stronger at 6.9 per cent, due largely to an infrastructure-led construction boom, resurgent exports and record bank lending.

REUTERS