BEIJING: China's factory output rose 5.1 per cent from a year earlier in July but slowed from the 5.3 per cent pace in June, reflecting languid domestic demand that could prompt more policy support to bolster the country's patchy economic recovery.
The official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Thursday missed expectations for a 5.2 per cent increase in a Reuters poll of 42 analysts.
However, retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 2.7 per cent in July, quickening from a 2.0 per cent increase in June. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 2.6 per cent.
Fixed asset investment expanded 3.6 per cent in the first seven months of 2024 from the same period a year earlier, compared with the forecast for a 3.9 per cent rise. It grew 3.9 per cent in the January to June period.
A recent string of dismal indicators point to a rocky start to the second half of the year and have heightened calls for more growth boosting measures for the US$19 trillion economy. For now, the government is still targeting economic growth of around 5 per cent for 2024.