MNI BRIEF: China Nov Retail Sales Unexpectedly Slow
China's consumption slowed unexpectedly in November despite the "Double 11" online shopping festival, while production and investment performance remained mediocre, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed.
Retail sales rose 3.0% y/y in November to hit the lowest level in three months, dropping from October's 4.8% gain and missing the 5.0% forecast. Retail sales grew 3.5% y/y in Jan-Nov, unchanged from the Jan-Oct reading. (See MNI: China To Issue More Bonds As Stimulus Targets Consumption)
Industrial production increased 5.4% y/y in November, edging up from October's 5.3% growth but missing the expected 5.5%. Industrial output grew 5.8% over Jan-Nov, unchanged from the previous read.
Fixed-asset investment registered a 3.3% y/y increase in the first 11 months, lower than Jan-Oct 3.4% read and the 3.5% consensus. Property investment fell by 10.4% to hit the lowest since February 2020, dipping further from the previous 10.3% decline. Infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment grew by 4.2% and 9.3%, compared with the previous 4.3% and 9.3%.