KWEB - China's December industrial output up 6.8% y/y retail sales growth below forecast

2024-01-17 01:33:18 ET

China's industrial production grew by 6.8% y/y in December 2023, accelerating from a 6.6% gain in the prior month and beating market forecasts of 6.6%.

For the whole year, industrial output grew by 4.6% from a year earlier.

China's retail sales increased by 7.4% y/y in December 2023, missing market consensus of 8.0% and slowing from a 10.1% jump in November, marking the 12th consecutive month of rise in retail trade.

Considering the whole year, retail sales increased by 7.2%.

The industrial capacity utilization rate in China increased to 75.9% in the fourth quarter of 2023 from 75.7% in the same period a year earlier.

Separately, China’s fixed-asset investment rose by 3.0% y/y to CNY 50.30 trillion in the January to December 2023 period, slightly higher than market estimates and the prior period’s 2.9% rise. Compared to the previous month, fixed investment went up by 0.09% in December.

Furthermore, China's surveyed urban unemployment rate inched up to 5.1% in December 2023 from 5.0% in the previous three months, which was the lowest jobless rate since November 2021. For the 2023 full year, the unemployment rate was at 5.2%, better than the government's target of around 5.5%, intending to create approximately 12 million new urban jobs.

Earlier today, China's economy saw a less-than-anticipated growth in Q4 due to ongoing challenges such as sluggish consumer spending and a decline in the real estate sector.

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Currency: ( CNY:USD )

More on China economy:

• China Q4 GDP grows less than expected at 5.2% amid weak spending, property market decline

• PBoC keeps medium-term lending facility rate unchanged at 2.5%

• China’s economy remains deflationary as consumer prices fall for third straight month in December

• Chinese spy balloon said to use US internet service provider: report

• China pledges to strengthen fiscal policy to fuel economy's recovery

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