financetom
Economy
financetom
/
Economy
/
China economy under pressure as factory output, retail sales growth slow sharply
News World Market Environment Technology Personal Finance Politics Retail Business Economy Cryptocurrency Forex Stocks Market Commodities
China economy under pressure as factory output, retail sales growth slow sharply
Aug 16, 2021 2:11 AM

China's factory output and retail sales growth slowed sharply and missed expectations in July, as new COVID-19 outbreaks and floods disrupted business operations, adding to signs the economic recovery is losing momentum.

Share Market Live

NSE

Industrial production in the world's second-largest economy increased 6.4 percent year-on-year in July, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), against expectations for 7.8 percent growth and after rising 8.3 percent in June.

Retail sales increased 8.5 percent last month, far lower than the forecast 11.5 percent increase and June's 12.1 percent uptick.

Also Read:

Japan ekes out economic growth in recovery from pandemic

China's economy has rebounded to its pre-pandemic growth levels, but the expansion is losing steam as businesses grapple with higher costs and supply bottlenecks. New COVID-19 infections in July also led to fresh restrictions, disrupting the country's factory output already hit by severe weather this summer.

Asian share markets slipped on Monday after the data showed a surprisingly sharp slowdown in the engine of global growth.

Data earlier this month also showed export growth, which has been a key driver of China's impressive rebound from the COVID-19 slump in early 2020, unexpectedly slowed in July.

Fu Linghui, an NBS spokesperson, said at a briefing on Monday that China's recovery remains uneven due to sporadic COVID-19 outbreaks and natural disasters.

"The domestic economic recovery still faces many challenges, and constraints on production increased," said Fu.

China has tightened social restrictions to fight its latest COVID-19 outbreak in several cities, hitting the services sector, especially travel and hospitality in the country.

The country has also faced severe weather in several provinces, with record rainfall in Henan province last month causing floods that killed more than 300 people.

China's crude steel output fell in July to the lowest monthly level since April 2020 as authorities stepped up production controls.

A growing number of analysts have been cutting their third-quarter growth estimates for China. The country's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 7.9 percent in the April-June quarter from a year earlier.

In July, the People's Bank of China reduced the amount of cash banks must hold as reserves, and many analysts expect another cut later this year to support growth amid signs of increasing pressure on the economy.

Fixed asset investment grew 10.3 percent in January-July from the same period a year ago, compared with an 11.3 percent rise tipped by a Reuters poll and a 12.6 percent increase in January-June.

Private sector fixed-asset investment, which accounts for 60 percent of total investment, grew 13.4 percent in the first seven months of the year, compared with a 15.4 percent gain in January-June.

Property investment, a crucial growth driver of China's recovery from COVID-19 disruptions, grew 12.7 percent in January-July, versus 15 percent rise in the first half of this year.

Comments
Welcome to financetom comments! Please keep conversations courteous and on-topic. To fosterproductive and respectful conversations, you may see comments from our Community Managers.
Sign up to post
Sort by
Show More Comments
Related Articles >
Fed Chair Powell says pandemic has had lasting effects on economy
Fed Chair Powell says pandemic has had lasting effects on economy
Mar 22, 2024
(Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell on Friday opened a Fed Listens event on how Americans are experiencing the economy, saying the pandemic has had lasting effects and that to make good policy the U.S. central bank cannot rely only on macroeconomic data but needs to hear directly from people and businesses. He did not make any remarks about the...
U.S. companies' stock purchases via buybacks, M&A to hit 6-year high in 2024, Goldman says
U.S. companies' stock purchases via buybacks, M&A to hit 6-year high in 2024, Goldman says
Mar 22, 2024
(Reuters) - U.S. companies' purchases of domestic equities through more stock buybacks and corporate acquisitions will hit a six-year high of $625 billion this year, about as much as mutual funds and pension houses will offload, Goldman Sachs said. A surge in share buybacks and continued growth in cash mergers and acquisitions (M&A) will be the primary drivers of corporate...
US Dollar Improves Early Friday Ahead of Fed Appearances, State Unemployment
US Dollar Improves Early Friday Ahead of Fed Appearances, State Unemployment
Mar 22, 2024
07:38 AM EDT, 03/22/2024 (MT Newswires) -- The US dollar rose against its major trading partners early Friday, except for a decline versus the yen, ahead of a series of appearances by Federal Reserve officials that compensate for a lack of major US data. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell is scheduled to make opening remarks at a Fed Listens conference at...
US Congress scrambles to pass $1.2 trillion spending bill, midnight deadline looms
US Congress scrambles to pass $1.2 trillion spending bill, midnight deadline looms
Mar 22, 2024
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Republican-controlled U.S. House of Representatives and Democratic-majority Senate on Friday will scramble to beat a midnight government shutdown deadline by passing a $1.2 trillion bill keeping the government funded through September. If they succeed, it will end a more-than-six-month battle over the scope of Washington's spending for the fiscal year that began Oct. 1. If they...
Copyright 2023-2025 - www.financetom.com All Rights Reserved