Data on Monday showed that China’s industrial output rose 7.0% annually in January-February, accelerating from 6.8% in December, beating expectations, marking a good start to 2024 and providing temporary relief to policymakers.
The data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) was significantly higher than the 5.0% growth forecast in a Reuters analyst poll. Retail sales, an indicator of consumption, rose 5.5% in the first two months of the year, slowing from a 7.4% gain in December. Analysts had expected retail sales to rise 5.2%. Fixed asset investment rose 4.2% annually over the two months, compared with expectations for growth of 3.2%. The full-year growth in 2023 is 3.0%.
