BEIJING- China’s factory output growth slowed in October and it was still too early to call a turn in the crisis-hit property sector even though consumers perked up, keeping alive calls for Beijing to top-up its recent blitz of stimulus to revitalize the economy.
The burst of data is likely to maintain pressure on Chinese policymakers as they brace for the return to the White House of Donald Trump, who has vowed to hike tariffs on Chinese goods and named China hawks to his cabinet in a troubling sign for the world’s second-biggest economy.
October industrial output grew 5.3 percent from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Friday, slowing from September’s 5.4 percent pace and missing expectations for a 5.6 percent increase in a Reuters poll.
However, retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 4.8 percent in October, accelerating from the 3.2 percent pace in September and marking the quickest growth since February.
Retail growth was boosted by a week-long holiday and the annual Singles’ Day shopping festival, which kicked off on Oct. 14, ten days earlier than last year.
Data provider Syntun estimated that sales across major e-commerce platforms rose 26.6 percent to 1.44 trillion yuan over the Singles Day event.
“China’s economy improved further at the start of Q4, thanks to stronger-than-expected consumer spending,” said Zichun Huang, China economist at Capital Economists.
“We think faster fiscal spending will support a continued cyclical pickup in activity over the coming months. But Trump’s victory casts a shadow over the outlook further ahead,” she added. NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui told a media briefing the recent policy measures appeared to be having a positive economic effect and that officials would continue to step up support.
