Chinese
laborers
working
at
a
construction
site
at
sunset
in
Chongqing,
China
on
March
6,
2005.
China
Photos
|
Getty
Images
BEIJING
—
China’s
retail
sales
and
industrial
production
picked
up
pace
in
August
with
better-than-expected
growth,
according
to
National
Bureau
of
Statistics
data
released
Friday.
Retail
sales
grew
by
4.6%
in
August
from
a
year
ago,
beating
expectations
for
3%
growth
forecast
by
a
Reuters
poll.
The
increase
was
also
faster
than
the
2.5%
year-on-year
pace
in
July.
Industrial
production
grew
by
4.5%
in
August
from
a
year
ago,
better
than
the
3.9%
forecast
and
faster
than
the
3.7%
increase
reported
for
July.
Fixed
asset
investment, however,
grew
by
3.2%
year-on-year
in
August
on
a
year-to-date
basis.
That
missed
expectations
for
a
3.3%
increase
and
was
slower
than
the
3.4%
pace
reported
as
of
July.
The
figure
was
dragged
down
by
a
steeper
drop
in
real
estate
investment, and
a
slowdown
in
infrastructure
investment. Only
manufacturing
saw
the
pace
of
investment
pick
up.
Statistics
bureau
spokesperson
Fu
Linghui
said
the
real
estate
market
was
still
in
a
period
of
“adjustment”
and
noted
declines
in
sales
and
investment.
watch
now
The
statistics
bureau
release
described
August
data
as
showing
“marginal
improvement.”
“The
national
economy
showed
good
momentum
of
recovery
with
high-quality
development
making
solid
progress
and
positive
factors
accumulated,”
the
statistics
bureau
release
said.
“However, we
should
be
aware
that
many
unstable
and
uncertain
factors
in
the
external
environment
still
exist.”
Within
retail
sales,
online
sales
of
physical
goods
rose
by
7.6%
in
August
from
a
year
ago,
according
to
CNBC
calculations
of
official
data
accessed
via
Wind.
Autos
saw
sales
rise
by
1.1%.
Among
the
categories
with
faster
growth
were
cosmetics,
up
by
9.7%
and
communication
equipment,
up
by
8.5%
in
August
from
a
year
ago. Catering
sales
grew
by
12.4%
during
that
time.
More
rate
cuts
Late
Thursday,
the
People’s
Bank
of
China
said
that
it
was
cutting
the
amount
of
cash
that
banks
need
to
have
on
hand
by
25
basis
points,
effective
Friday.
It
was
the
second
reserve
requirement
ratio
cut
this
year
since
one
in
March.
In
the
last
several
weeks,
Beijing
has
announced
a
slew
of
measures
to
support
the
real
estate
market
and
consumption.
watch
now
Monetary
policy
has
remained
relatively
loose
compared
with
aggressive
rate
hikes
in
the
U.S.
and
Europe.
Also
effective
Friday
is
a
reduction
in
the
foreign
exchange
reserve
requirement
ratio
for
financial
institutions
to
4%,
from
6%.
The
planned
cut
was
announced
two
weeks
ago.
The
central
bank
has
also
trimmed
other
benchmark
rates,
such
as
the
one-year
loan
prime
rate.
China’s
slowing
economic
growth
Moody’s
on
Thursday
downgraded
its
outlook
on
China’s
property
sector
to
negative
from
stable.
The
firm
expects
sales
to
fall
by
around
5%
over
the
next
six
to
12
months.
“While
the
Chinese
government
has
recently
strengthened
policy
support
for
the
property
sector,
we
expect
the
impact
on
property
sales
to
be
short-lived
and
differentiated
between
tiers
of
cities,”
Cedric
Lai,
vice
president
and
senior
analyst
at
Moody’s,
said
in
a
release.
Workers
make
pods
for
e-cigarettes
on
the
production
line
at
Kanger
Tech,
one
of
China’s
leading
manufacturers
of
vaping
products,
on
September
24,
2019
in
Shenzhen,
China.
Kevin
Frayer
|
Getty
Images
News
|
Getty
Images
Uncertainty
about
future
income
has
kept
consumer
spending
relatively
muted.
China’s
consumer
price
index
rose
by
0.1%
year-on-year
in
August,
reversing
a
decline
in
July.
Core
CPI,
which
excludes
food
and
energy
prices,
increased
by
the
same
0.8%
year-on-year
pace
during
both
months.
—
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