China's May factory output slows, retail sales surprisingly upbeat

China's industrial output rose 5.8 percent year-on-year in May, slowing from the 6.1 percent pace in April and missing forecasts, but retail sales growth unexpectedly picked up, official data showed on Monday.

The industrial output data, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), missed expectations for a 5.9 percent increase in a Reuters poll and marked the slowest growth since November last year.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 6.4 percent in May, compared to 5.1 percent growth in April. It was the quickest growth since December 2023. Analysts had expected retail sales to rise 5.0 percent.

Fixed asset investment expanded 3.7 percent in the first five months this year from the same period a year earlier, compared with the expectations for a 3.9 percent rise. It grew 4.0 percent in the January to April period.

REUTERS