China reported industrial output for the month of July rose 6.4 percent on-year, missing expectations.
Market watchers are keeping their eyes on the health of the the world’s second-largest economy ahead of a key Communist Party Congress in the fall where a leadership reshuffle is expected.
Analysts were expecting a rise of 7.2 percent against a 7.6 percent expansion in June for the country’s value-added industrial output.
July retail sales rose 10.4 percent from a year ago, also missing a 10.8 percent forecast from analysts polled by Reuters.
January to July fixed asset investment meanwhile rose 8.3 percent from a year ago, against Reuters’ poll forecast of 8.6 percent.
Despite the slowdown in growth, Complete Intelligence’s Chief Economist Tony Nash said the Chinese numbers were “not terrible,” even though the house thinks the actual numbers were likely “a bit slower” than what was released.
China, Nash told CNBC’s “Street Signs,” is likely growing at 5.5 to 6 percent.
The country is targeting a growth rate around 6.5 percent for 2017. It has been reporting solid growth in the first half of the year, but analysts say this may slow in the second half due to tightening policies in the property market and the government’s deleveraging campaign.
Despite concerns about the fallout from risks in the financial system, analysts say stability is the word of the day ahead of the once-every-five-years party congress.
Nomura analysts said in a note after the release of the data that that the house is maintaining its view of a gradual slowdown for the rest of 2017 due to the cooling property marketing and escalating U.S.-China trade tensions.
Source: CNBC
