BEIJING- China’s economy showed surprising resilience in August, with faster-than-expected growth in factory output and retail sales shoring up a fragile recovery, but a deepening property slump weighed on the outlook.
The better-than-expected figures show the world’s second-largest economy is gaining some steam, after narrowly escaping a contraction in the June quarter and lifting recovery prospects marginally for the rest of the year.
Industrial output grew 4.2 percent in August from a year earlier, the fastest pace since March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). That beat a 3.8 percent increase expected by analysts in a Reuters poll and July’s 3.8 percent expansion.
Retail sales rose 5.4 percent from a year ago, the quickest in six months and also beating forecasts for 3.5 percent growth and the 2.7 percent gain in July.
“This is due to a lower base for comparison — the Delta wave was weighing on economic activity in August 2021,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, a China economist at Capital Economics.
