Arabic version: تباطؤ مبيعات التجزئة في الصين مع تعمّق تراجع الاستثمار

According to Cnbc, China’s retail sales grew 0.4% in August from a year earlier, slowing from 0.6% in the prior month and falling short of economists’ forecast for 0.8% growth. The data underscored weak consumer demand as the country’s investment downturn deepened.

Urban fixed-asset investment fell 7.2% year on year in the first eight months, worsening from a 6.7% decline in the January-to-July period. The measure includes property and infrastructure investment and matched analysts’ expectations.

Industrial output provided a stronger reading, rising 5.2% in August after 4.5% growth in July. The result exceeded economists’ expectation for a 4.8% increase. The National Bureau of Statistics said domestic conditions showed an “acute” imbalance between strong supply and weak demand, while some businesses continued to face operational difficulties.

The urban survey-based unemployment rate edged up to 5.3% in August from 5.2% in July, unchanged from the same period a year earlier. NBS spokesperson Fu Linghui linked the increase to the graduation season and pointed to stable manufacturing employment, prospects for technology jobs, and growth in hospitality and catering.

China’s economy grew 4.3% in the second quarter, its weakest pace in more than three years. Policymakers have relied on incremental support measures, including stepped-up government bond issuance and expanded loan-interest subsidies. Credit expansion in August missed forecasts, with new bank loans rising 60 billion yuan, compared with a roughly 400 billion yuan forecast, while outstanding loan growth slowed to a record-low 4.9%.