The National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that industrial output increased 5.6 percent from a year earlier, which was less than the 10.9 percent median prediction in a Bloomberg poll of experts. In contrast to expectations for a 21.9 percent increase, retail sales increased by just 18.4 percent.
Consumer spending and industrial activity in China expanded more slowly than anticipated in April, adding to indications that the world’s second-largest economy’s recovery is stalling. The National Bureau of Statistics said on Tuesday that industrial output increased 5.6 percent from a year earlier, which was less than the 10.9 percent median prediction in a Bloomberg poll of experts. In contrast to expectations for a 21.9 percent increase, retail sales increased by just 18.4 percent.
In the first four months of the year, growth in fixed-asset investment dropped to 4.7 percent, below the 5.7 percent predicted by experts. The urban unemployment rate decreased from 5.3 percent in March to 5.2 percent. Comparisons with April 2022, when Shanghai was shut down, severely affected the headline data, which caused a decline in consumer and corporate activity at the time. The statistics were dismal however, and they indicate that policymakers may need to increase their support for growth.
After a solid start to the year, several data in recent weeks suggested the economic recovery may be slowing down. Consumers have reduced their mortgage borrowing, and real estate sales during the Labor Day weekend remained below pre-pandemic levels. In April, consumer prices hardly increased while imports fell sharply, an indication of slow domestic spending. Last month, both consumer and business borrowing declined.
Whether the central bank will provide stimulus to promote growth is a topic of discussion among economists. The People’s Bank of China signaled on Monday that it will maintain a supportive stance by promising “appropriate” levels of lending and money supply. It increased the long-term liquidity it provided to the banking sector earlier on Monday while maintaining the same interest rate on its one-year policy loans.