China's industrial output accelerates in April, investment slows

[BEIJING] China's industrial output growth accelerated in April while investment slowed, suggesting monetary easing is slow in trickling through to support the economy.

Industrial output rose 5.9 per cent in April from a year earlier, compared to the median estimate of 6 per cent in a Bloomberg survey of economists and March's 5.6 per cent. Non- rural fixed-asset investment rose 12 per cent in the Jan-April period, missing forecasts for 13.5 per cent.

Retail sales rose 10 per cent in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday.

Premier Li Keqiang is opening the monetary tap to stem an economic slowdown, with the third interest rate cut in the last six months announced on Sunday. Today's data suggests the previous measures have started to show some effects on growth.

Inflation remained subdued in April and exports and imports both slid, prompting the People's Bank of China to cut interest rates by a quarter of percentage point. With capital flowing abroad and local governments embroiled in a complex debt cleanup, economists anticipate further easing.

BLOOMBERG