China July industrial output, retail sales growth miss expectations

China's industrial output grew 3.7 per cent in July from a year earlier, slowing from the 4.4 per cent gain seen in June, while retail sales also rose at a slower pace last month, suggesting Beijing will need to step up support measures to bolster a stuttering economy.

The output data released on Tuesday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came below expectations for a 4.4 per cent increase in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Retail sales rose just 2.5 per cent, slowing from a 3.1 per cent increase in June, despite the summer travel season. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 4.5 per cent.

Fixed asset investment expanded 3.4 per cent in the first seven months of 2023 from the same period a year earlier, versus expectations for a 3.8 per cent rise. It grew 3.8 per cent in the January-June period.

Tuesday's figures come on top of a batch of gloomy data over the past week including disappointing trade and consumer price numbers and record-low credit growth. They suggest policymakers have their work cut out in trying to shore up a faltering economic recovery, and adds to the urgency for more support measures.