A BYD factory producing new energy-powered trucks is pictured here in Huai’an, China on February 21, 2024.
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Industrial production rose 6.7% in April from a year ago, beating expectations for 5.5% growth. It is also noteworthy that it was 4.5% in March.
But fixed asset investment rose 4.2% in the first four months of the year, less than an expected 4.6% increase.
Real estate investment accelerated its decline, falling 9.8% year-on-year in the four months to 2024.
During that time both infrastructure and manufacturing investment slowed slightly from the levels reported in March.
The urban unemployment rate stood at 5% in April. The bureau has previously said it will release a breakdown by age in the days following the overall data release.
Retail sales rose 6.8% year-on-year during the recent holiday period from April 29 to May 3, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Retail sales of home appliances rose 7.9% during that period, while sales of automobiles rose 4.8%, boosted by nationwide trade promotions.
“Industry’s key indicators, exports, employment and prices improved overall, with new driving forces maintained[ing] rapid growth,” the bureau said.
April figures were affected by the May 1 Labor Day holiday and last year’s higher base, the Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.
Bureau of Statistics spokesman Liu Aihua pointed out that last year, the multi-day May 1 Labor Day holiday covered two days in April. This year, the holiday didn’t start until May 1.
He said that the real estate sector is in a balanced period.
China was scheduled to launch a six-month program on Friday to issue decades-long bonds to finance strategic projects. Oxford Economics expects no economic impact to be felt until the first half of next year.
Liu noted that issuing ultra-long bonds could help boost market confidence.
Other data for April pointed to a mixed picture for growth.
Exports in April grew year-on-year by 1.5% and in line with expectations, imports rose by a better-than-expected 8.4%.
In another sign of stabilizing domestic demand, consumer prices rose last month.
But at the factory level a level of prices continued to decline. New credit data for April fell to a level not seen in at least two decades, largely due to changes in data measurement but also reflecting sluggish demand from businesses and households for future borrowing.
The lingering slowdown in the real estate industry is yet to show signs of a significant change, with many pre-sold apartments still under construction. Several cities have eased home purchase restrictions in the past few weeks in an effort to boost sales.
Officials from the Ministry of Housing, the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator are scheduled to hold a press conference on Friday afternoon on housing delivery policies.
Dan Wang, chief economist at Hong Kong Bank (China), said in an interview late last month that he expects China’s property market to stabilize by the end of next year.
“Actually, it seems to me that the policy has succeeded, in a very brutal way, because it’s happening so fast because it’s basically stopped speculation,” he said.
He pointed out that while the real estate slump has weighed particularly heavily on the wealth of the middle class, the overall economy has held up.
“Data quality aside, it seems that the economy can compensate for a large loss in the housing market through industrial investment and production,” Wang said. “It showed some strength in the way the Chinese economy is organized and how its industrial policy is done.”
China’s official gross domestic product rose 5.3% from a year earlier in the first quarter, beating expectations for a 4.6% increase. The country has set a target of 5% GDP growth by 2024.
The EU Chamber of Commerce in China told reporters last week that recent economic pressures appear to be cyclical and that it is more important for foreign businesses to boost domestic demand than industrial investment.
Retail sales rose 6.8% year-on-year during the recent holiday period from April 29 to May 3, according to China’s Ministry of Commerce.
Retail sales of home appliances rose 7.9% during that period, while sales of automobiles rose 4.8%, boosted by nationwide trade promotions.
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