Customers are shopping at a new Costco store located in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, China, on May 28, 2024.
Vcg | Visual China Group | getty images
On Friday, China reported better-than-expected retail sales and industrial production for September.
Retail sales increased by 3.2% This is better than the 2.5% growth estimated by analysts in the LSEG poll compared with a year ago, the Office for National Statistics said. Sales grew at a faster rate than the 2.1% increase last month.
meantime, Industrial production increased by 5.4% It was higher in September than a year ago and higher than the 4.5% analysts expected.
Fixed asset investment from January to September increased by 3.4% compared to the same period last year.
China also reported. Urban unemployment rate 5.1% In September, it fell by 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous month.
“There are some encouraging signs, but it is difficult to say that China is out of the woods,” said Gary Ng, chief economist at Natixis. He noted that annual retail sales data shows “cautious sentiment among consumers.”
From January to September, retail sales increased 3.35%, which is almost identical to the 3.36% growth rate reported from January to August.
The data comes after a flurry of recent announcements from authorities as Beijing seeks to boost spending and support its ailing real estate sector.
On Friday, China also reported slightly better-than-expected gross domestic product (GDP) figures.
Investors have long been waiting for stimulus as economic growth in the world’s second-largest economy slows as China struggles to emerge from a COVID-19 lockdown.
Markets were volatile as investors evaluated the announcement and sought additional details about implementation.
Prime Minister Ng said, “Whether interest rate cuts and fiscal policies are implemented at an appropriate scale will be the key to restoring the economy and confidence.”
— CNBC’s Anniek Bao contributed to this report.
