China Q1 GDP grows 6.7 % year on year, meeting expectations

[BEIJING] China's economy grew 6.7 per cent in the first quarter from a year earlier, meeting expectations and providing additional evidence that a slowdown in the world's second largest economy may be bottoming out.

Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted gross domestic product (GDP) in the world's second-largest economy would grow 6.7 per cent in the first quarter, easing from 6.8 per cent in the fourth quarter.

China's fixed-asset investment growth quickened to 10.7 per cent year-on-year in the Jan-March period, beating market expectations.

Analysts polled by Reuters predicted investment growth would come in at 10.3 per cent.

Industrial output growth quickened to 6.8 per cent, surprising analysts who expected it to rise 5.9 per cent on an annual basis after a rise of 5.4 per cent in Jan-Feb.

Retail sales growth quickened to 10.5 per cent.

Analysts forecast they would rise 10.4 per cent on an annual basis after a rise of 10.2 per cent the prior period.

REUTERS