More hints that China’s economy may have improved a touch in November.
First, there was the stronger than expected surveys of manufacturing activity, then a slightly better than expected rise in imports – especially of key commodities, – last week a small easing in the pace of deflation in manufacturing, now industrial production and retail sales were better than expected.
Data from China’s National Statistics Bureau on Monday showed that industrial output in China rose 6.2% last month from a year earlier, bouncing sharply from the very weak 4.7% year-over-year increase in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday (which was due mostly to the start of month week-long holiday to celebrate National Day).
November’s increase also easily topped the market forecast for a 5.0% rise.
Retail sales climbed 8.0% in November from a year earlier, compared with October’s 7.2% increase and again easily beating a median forecast for 7.6% growth.
But fixed-asset investment in China’s urban areas rose an unchanged 5.2% in the first 11 months from a year earlier. But that was a bit better than market forecasts.
Private sector fixed-asset investment, which accounts for 60% of the China’s total investment, grew 4.5% in January-November.
The news came a day after Reuters reported that China’s main planning body had adopted a lower GDP growth target for 2020 of around 6%, compared with 2019’s target of 6% to 6.5%.
The actual figure is expected to be around 6.2% when the final data is issued next month.
GDP rose a cooler 6% in the September quarter.
Part of that news was a lift in the number of bond raisings to be done by local government – Reuters said it would total 3 trillion yuan next year against 2.15 trillion in 2019.
Earlier the Statistics Bureau reported a slowing in the growth rate for house prices across China.
Prices rose 0.3% last month from October, which Reuters said was the slowest monthly growth rate since early 2018.
On an annual basis, average new home prices in China’s 70 major cities rose 7.1% in November, down from 7.8% in October, and the slowest year-on-year growth since mid – 2018.
