China July industrial output up 6.4%, retail sales miss forecasts

[BEIJING] China's industrial output rose 6.4 per cent in July from a year ago, well behind expectations, official data showed on Monday, amid signs of increasing pressure on China's economy.

Analysts in a Reuters poll had expected industrial output to rise 7.8 per cent last month after an 8.3 per cent uptick in June.

Retail sales grew by 8.5 per cent in July from a year earlier, compared with a forecast 11.5 per cent rise and sharply down from June's 12.1 per cent surge.

Fixed asset investment rose 10.3 per cent in the first seven months of the year from the same period a year earlier. Analysts in the poll had expected the fixed asset investment to rise 11.3 per cent after a 12.6 per cent increase in the first six months of the year.

China's economy has rebounded to its pre-pandemic growth levels, driven by surprisingly strong exports, but the expansion is losing steam as businesses grapple with higher raw material prices and global supply chain bottlenecks.

REUTERS