Investing.com - China’s industrial production grew slower than expected in October, while retail sales and fixed asset investment growth also declined.
Data from the statistic bureau showed that industrial output grew 4.7% in October, down from 5.8% in September and the expected 5.4%.
Retail sales grew by 7.2% in October from a year ago, compared with expectations of 7.8%. This was the lowest monthly growth rate since April.
Fixed asset investment grew by 5.2% in the first ten months of the year, compared to expectations of no change at 5.4%.
At a press conference in Beijing on Thursday, an NBS spokeswoman put China’s economic woes down to “the global economic growth slowdown” and “relatively greater external uncertainties.”
China’s Premier Li Keqiang acknowledged the challenges facing the economy, saying that the current external environment has become “more complex and severe.” Domestic economy is under “increasing downward pressure” and business operation of companies are becoming increasingly difficult.
The worse-than-expected set of data had little impact on Chinese stocks today, as the Shanghai Composite and the Shenzhen Composite gained 0.1% and 0.4% respectively in morning trade.