Connect with us

Hi, what are you looking for?

Business

China retail sales pick up speed, beat forecasts in October

Chinese policymakers are grappling with slumping domestic consumption
Chinese policymakers are grappling with slumping domestic consumption - Copyright AFP STR
Chinese policymakers are grappling with slumping domestic consumption - Copyright AFP STR

China’s retail sales last month grew at their fastest clip since the start of the year, official figures showed Friday, an encouraging sign for Beijing as it looks to boost sluggish consumption.

Officials have since late September unveiled a slew of measures including interest rate cuts and debt swaps intended to boost activity in the world’s second-largest economy, which has struggled to regain momentum since the pandemic.

Among the woes facing policymakers are slumping domestic consumption resulting in deflationary pressure, a property sector bust and geopolitically fraught trade disputes.

Retail sales expanded 4.8 percent on-year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, speeding up from the 3.2 percent in September.

The reading also significantly outperformed the 3.8 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey of analysts and represents the best reading since February.

Figures also showed the national urban unemployment rate fell slightly to five percent from 5.1 percent in September.

However, industrial production growth edged down to 5.3 percent in October, the NBS figures showed, from 5.4 percent the previous month.

The NBS said in a statement that in October “positive factors accumulated and increased and the national economy was stable, with progress and growth”.

Beijing is pushing for an official national growth target this year of around five percent, a goal most economists believe it will narrowly miss.

But recent weeks have seen officials announce their most aggressive measures in years in a bid to breathe fresh life into the economy.

The new policies have included a debt swap programme to ease the burden on local governments, mortgage rate cuts and the elimination of certain restrictions on home purchases.

AFP
Written By

With 2,400 staff representing 100 different nationalities, AFP covers the world as a leading global news agency. AFP provides fast, comprehensive and verified coverage of the issues affecting our daily lives.

You may also like:

Life

This comes from research that reveals which local authorities in England are most and least happy with their healthcare providers. 

World

We've been limited by thinking extreme weather is only as bad as what we've measured since weather stations were invented.

Entertainment

Sigmund Trondheim is a Danish singer-songwriter, artist, and social influencer. He sat down and chatted with this journalist prior to his "Emerging Artist Showcase"...

Life

The U.S. dominates the sleep aid market among all the countries analysed.