China Industrial Production Growth Rises

(RTTNews) - China's industrial production growth accelerated in August but retail sales registered a weaker expansion, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday.

Industrial production increased 5.2 percent on a yearly basis in August, faster than the 4.5 percent rise in July. The annual growth also exceeded forecast of 4.8 percent.

Retail sales grew only 0.4 percent from the last year. This was slower than the 0.6 percent growth seen in July and economists' forecast of 0.8 percent.

During January to August, fixed asset investment declined 7.2 percent from the same period last year and also matched expectations.

ING economist Lynn Song said weak Chinese consumption and investment persisted amid soft domestic demand, while solid external demand continues to support industrial activity.

Overall, the third-quarter GDP looks likely to stay near or below the low-end of the target range of around 4.5 percent to 5 percent, the economist added.