China activity slows as pollution measures bite

Beijing

CHINA economic activity slowed last month as millions of factories are forced to cut back on production and banks hold back on lending.

Industrial output rose 6.2 per cent year-on-year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, down from a 6.6 per cent increase in September.

Fixed-asset investment growth also slowed to 7.3 per cent in the January-October period, from 7.5 per cent in the first nine months. Analysts had expected an increase of 7.4 per cent.

Meanwhile, retail sales grew 10 per cent last month against 10.3 per cen…