MNI BRIEF:China July Production, Spending Slower Than Expected

China's production, consumption and investment slowed more than expected in July despite efforts to boost domestic demand, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday showed.

Industrial production rose 3.7% y/y in July, underperforming the 4.3% forecast and decelerating from June's 4.4%. Retail sales increased 2.5% y/y in July to hit the lowest level this year, missing expectations for 3.8% and slowing from June's 3.1%.

Fixed-asset investment in Jan-July period registered a 3.4% y/y increase, the lowest since December 2020, slower than both the 3.8% growth in H1 and lower than the 3.8% consensus. Property investment fell further by 8.5% y/y in the first seven months following the prior 7.9% decrease. Infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment grew by 6.8% and 5.7%, respectively, compared to the previous 7.2% and 6.0%.