China’s industrial production unexpectedly eases in September

Industrial production in China unexpectedly weakened during the month of September, while measures of investment and consumer spending painted an optimist picture even as the world’s second-largest economy struggles to beat weak global demand and a shrinking industrial sector.

China’s industrial production, a broad measure of the country’s factory output, rose 6.1 percent during the month of September, compared to a year earlier period, while the same had risen 6.3 percent in August, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday.

Further, a separate gauge of annual fixed-asset investment, a proxy for long-term spending, increased 8.2 percent during the January-September period, while urban investment held near 16-year lows in the year to August. However, economists had forecasted industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment to each grow 0.1 percentage point faster in September.

In addition, retail sales, a gauge of private and government spending, increased rose 10.7 percent year-on-year, following an increase of 10.6 percent in August. Also, consumer spending has shown signs of a double-digit growth in the past years; however, the pace slowed significantly since 2013

Meanwhile, China’s gross domestic product expanded at an annualized 6.7 percent during the third quarter, following a 6.7 percent increase in each of the first two quarters.