China’s economy performed unevenly in July, with slowing factory output being offset by an uptick in consumer spending, Reuters reports.
Figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday showed that while industrial output was up 5.1 percent year-on-year, July’s output had slowed for the third consecutive month and fallen short of analysts’ expectations.
Retail sales beat predictions, however, climbing 2.7 percent year-on-year and 0.7 percent when compared with June. Online sales accounted for more than a quarter of consumer goods sold in the first seven months of the year, according to the NBS, and their value was up 8.7 percent year-on-year.
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“Economic momentum appears to have stabilised somewhat last month, with a pick-up in consumer spending and servicing activity largely offsetting a slowdown in investment and industrial production,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, head of China economics at Capital Economics. “With the government ramping up policy support, we think a modest recovery could take hold over the coming months.”
The central government is targeting a five percent growth rate this year.
NBS data showed the surveyed unemployment rate was 5.2 percent in July, up 0.2 percent from June and down 0.1 percent year-on-year.
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The price of new homes, meanwhile, has fallen at a record rate of 4.9 percent year-on-year, according to Reuters – citing a different data set also released by the NBS on Thursday.
That’s despite historic measures China introduced to shore up its languishing property market back in May. Further home-buying incentives have been implemented in certain cities since then, including in Guangzhou.
