The industrial economy is still facing downward pressures looking forward
The industrial economy is still facing downward pressures looking forward
Beijing
: Growth in China's industrial production, a measure of output at factories, workshops and mines, fell to a six-month low in October, official data showed Wednesday, suggesting sustained weakness in the world's second-largest economy.
Industrial output increased 5.6 per cent last month from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, the lowest reading since March's identical figure and edging down from a 5.7 per cent rise in September.
It was also below the median forecast of a 5.8 per cent increase in a survey of economists by Bloomberg News. The figures come as the world worries about growth in China, a leading driver of the global economy.
Fixed asset investment, a measure of spending on infrastructure, expanded 10.2 per cent year-on-year in the January-October period, the NBS said. But retail sales, a key indicator of consumer spending, held up well for the month, growing 11.0 per cent from a year earlier -- the fastest increase since a rise of 11.9 per cent in December last year, according to the NBS.
It was also slightly better than the median estimate of a 10.9 per cent expansion in the Bloomberg poll.
-"The marginal fall in October's industrial production growth showed support from the rapid development of new industries was still insufficient while traditional industries were having deep corrections,-" the NBS said in a statement.
-"The industrial economy is still facing downward pressures looking forward,-" it said.
