MNI DATA BRIEF: China Q2 GDP Slows To 7.9% From Record Q1

China's economy expanded 7.9% y/y in Q2, below a median forecast of 8.0% and well off the 18.3% record gain in Q1 as the economy rebounded from Covid-19 lockdowns a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday.

On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 1.3%, in line with expectations.

Based on the average gain in two years, Q2 GDP was 5.5% y/y. GDP grew 12.7% in H1, with the two-year average at 5.3% which still accelerated 0.3 percentage point from Q1.

INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION, RETAIL SALES

Industrial production grew 8.3% y/y in June, beating the 8.0% median projection but down from the 8.8% gain in May. The average growth for the past two years was 6.5%. The 15.9% growth in H1 was slower than 17.8% in the Jan-May period.

Retail sales rose 12.1% y/y in June, below May's 12.4% gain, though outshining the 10.8% forecast. The average growth for two years was 4.9%. The measure grew 23.0% in H1, slower than 25.7% in the first five months.

INVESTMENT, UNEMPLOYMENT

Fixed-asset Investment registered a growth of 12.6% y/y in H1, decelerating from 15.4% in Jan-May, though beating the 12.0% projection. The average growth for two years was 4.4%.

Manufacturing investment rose 19.2% y/y in H1, growing 2.0% based on the average gain in two years.

Meanwhile, infrastructure and property investment growth both slowed to 7.8% and 15.0% y/y, respectively, and decelerated to 2.4% and 8.2% on average for the past two years.

The registered urban unemployment rate was 5.0% in June, flat from May.