BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s industrial output grew 6.6% in November year-on-year, faster than the 4.6% gain in October, and retail sales grew but missed forecasts, adding to signs Beijing’s recent flurry of stimulus are helping stabilise the economy.
The data on output released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) exceeded analysts’ expectations for a 5.6% rise in a Reuters poll and made it the strongest growth since September 2022.
Retail sales rose 10.1% in November, accelerating from a 7.6% increase in October. Analysts had expected retail sales to leap 12.5% mainly due to the low base effect in 2022 when COVID curbs disrupted consumers and businesses.
Fixed asset investment expanded 2.9% in the first 11 months of 2023 from the same period a year earlier, missing expectations for a 3% rise. It grew 2.9% in the January-October period.
(Reporting by Liz Lee, Ellen Zhang and Joe Cash. Editing by Sam Holmes)
