China’s retail sales growth weakened last month, official data showed yesterday, missing forecasts as demand remains muted in the world’s No. 2 economy.
The country is battling sluggish domestic consumption, a persistent crisis in the property sector and soaring government debt — all of which threaten Beijing’s official growth target for this year.
Retail sales expanded 3 percent year-on-year last month, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, slowing from a 4.8 percent rise in October that was its best reading in eight months.
Photo: EPA-EFE
The figure fell significantly short of the 5 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts.
Nomura Holdings Inc chief China economist Ting Lu (陸挺) said the figures showed that “domestic demand was weaker than expected.”
Economic activity was “a bit disappointing” overall, he said, adding that Beijing might need to take even bolder action as the country was “not in a typical downcycle.”
The NBS also said the national urban unemployment rate remained unchanged at 5 percent last month.
Industrial production growth stayed broadly flat at 5.4 percent compared with 5.3 percent in October.
Beijing is pushing for an official national growth target this year of about 5 percent, a goal officials have expressed confidence in achieving, but which many economists believe it would narrowly miss.
The IMF said it expects China’s economy to grow by 4.8 percent this year and 4.5 percent next year.
An NBS spokesperson said that the international environment would likely become “more complex, harsh and uncertain” next year, adding that “trade protectionism will drag down global trade and the recovery of the world economy.”
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