China's Economic Update: Third Quarter Growth at 4.6%, Positive Signs in Industrial Production and Retail Sales

The Chinese economy grew by 4.6% year-on-year in the third quarter of 2024, marginally surpassing market predictions of 4.5%, but down from 4.7% in Q2 2024. This represents the slowest annual growth rate since early 2023, highlighting persistent challenges such as a continuing decline in the property sector, sluggish domestic demand, and trade tensions with Western nations.GDP Growth Reaches 4.8% Year-to-Date, Falling Short of Beijing's 5% Annual Goal

In September 2024, China's industrial production increased by 5.4% compared to last year, improving from the 4.5% growth seen in August. This result was better than what analysts expected, which was a 4.5% increase, bringing some optimism to officials who are trying to revive a struggling economy. 

Retail sales grew 3.2% from a year ago, better than the 2.5% growth estimated by analysts in an LSEG poll, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Sales rose at a faster clip than last month’s 2.1% growth.