MNI BRIEF: China April Sales Hit Over One-Yr Low On Weak Demand

China's consumption unexpectedly slowed to an over one year low despite the Qingming Festival in April, but industrial output grew, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed.

Industrial production rose 6.7% y/y in April, accelerating from March's 4.5% growth and outperforming the expected 5.4%. Industrial output grew 6.3% from January to April.

Retail sales further slowed to 2.3% y/y in April from the previous 3.1% gain, hitting the lowest level since December 2022 (-1.8%) and missing the 3.8% forecast. Retail sales grew 4.1% y/y in the first four months, while service retail sales rose significantly by 8.4%.

Fixed-asset investment registered a 4.2% y/y increase, moderating from the 4.5% growth over the Jan-Mar period and underperforming the 4.6% consensus. Property investment fell further by 9.8% following the previous 9.5% decrease, marking the biggest fall since Dec 2022 (-10.0%). Infrastructure investment and manufacturing investment grew by 6.0% and 9.7%, compared with the previous 6.5% and 9.9%.