MNI BRIEF: China Q3 GDP Beats Expectation To Rise 4.9%

The Chinese economy grew by 4.9% y/y in Q3, beating market expectations of 4.5%, as production and consumption rebounded more than expected, despite weakness in real estate continuing to drag down investment, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday showed.

The NBS data shows GDP has risen 5.2% as of September. Industrial production rose 4.5% y/y in Sept, flat from the previous month, while outperforming the 4.3% forecast. Retail sales increased 5.5% y/y, outshining expectations for 4.7% and accelerating from Aug's 4.6%.

Fixed-asset investment over the first nine months registered a 3.1% y/y increase, the lowest since December 2020 (2.9%), slower than the 3.2% growth in Jan-Aug and lower than the 3.2% consensus. Property investment fell further by 9.1% y/y following the prior month's 8.8% decrease. Both infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment grew by 6.2%, compared to the previous 6.4% and 5.9%.

MNI reported this week China's GDP print would beat expectations. (See MNI INTERVIEW: China GDP To Beat Expectations- Ex PBOC's Sheng)