BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s industrial output in September rose 6.3% from a year earlier, better than 4.2% growth in August, official data showed on Monday, pointing to a sustained recovery from COVID-19 curbs that disrupted business and factory activity.
The figure beat expectations for a 4.5% gain in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Retail sales rose 2.5%, worse than analysts’ expectations for 3.3% rise and 5.4% growth in August.
Fixed asset investment expanded 5.9% in the first nine months of the year from the same period a year earlier, versus a 6.0% rise expected by analysts and growth of 5.8% in January-August.
The data showed some improvement in the nascent recovery in the world’s second-largest economy, which has been hit by pandemic curbs and hobbled by a deep property slump, protracted COVID curbs and softening demand at home and abroad.
(Reporting by Beijing newsroom; Editing by Sam Holmes)
