China Industrial Output, Retail Sales Growth Beats Expectations

(RTTNews) - China's industrial production and retail sales growth exceeded expectations in the January to February period before the war in the Middle East began, official data revealed Monday.

Driven by robust foreign demand, industrial output increased 6.3 percent on a yearly basis, stronger than the 5.2 percent rise in December, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Moreover, the rate exceeded economists' forecast of 5.3 percent.

Similarly, retail sales advanced 2.8 percent from a year ago in the first two months of the year, following a 0.9 percent rise in December. Sales were expected to grow 2.6 percent.

At the same time, fixed asset investment climbed 1.8 percent, confounding expectations for a decline of 5.0 percent. On the other hand, property investment plunged 11.1 percent from the previous year.

The urban unemployment rate rose slightly to 5.3 percent in the first two months of the year.

The government had set a growth target of 4.5-5 percent for 2026, which was the lowest seen since 1991.

ING economist Lynn Song said first data of the year showed indicators beating forecast across board, largely due to downbeat expectations rather than a particularly robust domestic economy.

There is still work to be done to support the domestic economy and achieve this year's growth targets - especially as inflation risks are picking up, he said. The economist forecasts real growth of 4.6 percent for 2026.