China April industrial output declines 2.9% y/y, retail sales fall 11.1% y/y
FILE PHOTO: A worker makes a phone call in front of coils of steel wire at a steel wholesale market in Shenyang, Liaoning province June 9, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer (BUSINESS)
BEIJING : China's industrial output fell 2.9 per cent in April from a year earlier, down sharply from a 5.0 per cent increase in March, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, and weaker than 0.4 per cent growth seen in a Reuters poll.
Retail sales in April shrank 11.1 per cent year-on-year amid wider and stringent COVID-19 curbs on activity, after falling 3.5 per cent in March. The figure was below analysts' expectations for a 6.1 per cent drop.
Fixed asset investment increased 6.8 per cent in the first four months from the year-earlier period, compared with the 7.0 per cent increase tipped by the Reuters poll and 9.3 per cent growth in the first three months.
