MNI BRIEF: China's Q4 GDP Grow By 5.4%, Meeting 2024 Target
The Chinese economy grew by 5.4% in Q4, rising 0.8 percentage points from Q3 and driving 2024's growth to the government's 5% annual target, beating market expectations of 5.0% and 4.9%, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed.
Retail sales rose 3.7% y/y in December, rising from November's 3.0% gain and outpacing the 3.5% forecast. Retail sales grew 3.5% y/y in 2024, unchanged from the Jan-Nov reading of 3.5%. (See MNI: Tourism, Coupons Eyed To Boost China's Consumption)
Industrial production increased 6.2% y/y in December, hitting an eight-month high, up from November’s 5.4% growth and outperforming the expected 5.4%. Industrial output grew 5.8% in 2024, unchanged from the 5.8% growth in the first eleven months.
Fixed-asset investment slowed for the second month to 3.2% y/y in 2024, lower than Jan-Nov’s 3.3% read and the 3.3% consensus. Property investment fell by 10.6% to hit the lowest since February 2020, dipping further from the previous 10.4% decline. Infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment grew by 4.4% and 9.2%, compared with the previous 4.2% and 9.3%.