China's industrial output rises 7.3% y-o-y in December; retail sales miss forecast

[BEIJING] China's industrial output rose at a faster-than-expected rate of 7.3 per cent in December from a year ago, data showed on Monday, expanding for the ninth straight month as the vast manufacturing sector, aided by strong exports, continues its post-Covid recovery.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected annual industrial output growth to have eased to 6.9 per cent in December from 7.0 per cent in November.

China's retail sales edged up 4.6 per cent last month from a year earlier, missing analysts' forecast for 5.5 per cent growth, in contrast to 5.0 per cent growth in November.

Fixed asset investment increased 2.9 per cent in 2020 on year, compared with a forecast 3.2 per cent increase and a 2.5 per cent growth in the first 11 months of the year.

REUTERS