China reports GDP growth of 4.7% in the second quarter, exceeding expectations

BEIJING – China’s National Bureau of Statistics said Monday the country’s GDP rose 4.7% year on year in the second quarter, missing expectations of 5.1% growth, data showed. a Reuters poll.

June retail sales also missed expectations, rising 2% compared to the 3.3% growth forecast.

However, industrial production exceeded expectations in June by 5.3% from a year ago, higher than Reuters’ estimate of 5% growth.

Investments in urban fixed assets increased by 3.9% in the first six months of the year, meeting expectations. Investments in infrastructure and manufacturing slowed their annual growth rate in June compared to May, while real estate investments fell at the same pace of 10.1%.

The National Bureau of Statistics did not hold a press conference for the publication of the data. China’s high-level policy meeting, the Third Plenum, will begin on Monday and conclude on Thursday.

“We must work harder to stimulate the market and boost internal momentum,” the agency said in an English-language press release.

It also called for efforts to “consolidate and increase the momentum for economic recovery and growth, thus ensuring the sustainable and healthy development of the economy.”

The urban unemployment rate stood at 5% in June, unchanged from the previous month, the agency said.

China’s GDP grew at an annual rate of 5.3% in the first quarter.

Chinese exports increased by a more than expected 8.6% compared to a year ago Customs details were released on Fridayshowed. But imports fell 2.3% year on year in June, exceeding expectations for slight growth.

Other measures also pointed to weak domestic demand.

Chinese consumer prices rose 0.2% year on year in June, exceeding expectations. The core CPI, which excludes more volatile food and energy prices, rose 0.6% year-on-year in June, slightly slower than the 0.7% increase in the first six months of the year.

The latest Chinese credit data released on Friday showed a sharp decline in broad money supply growth and new yuan loans in the first half of the year compared with the same period in 2023.

Household loans rose by 1.46 trillion yuan ($200 billion) in the first six months of the year, almost half of the 2.8 trillion yuan in new loans for the category last year. said the People’s Bank of China.

Corporate loans rose by 11 trillion yuan in the first half of the year, slightly lower than the 12.81 trillion yuan recorded in the same period last year.

“June money and credit data indicated that credit demand remained weak,” Goldman Sachs analysts said in a report on Friday. “The recent policy announcement shows that the PBOC continues to focus on improving monetary policy transmission and downplaying the importance of aggregate credit growth. Looking ahead, the growth of new CNY loans and M2 could gradually slow further.”