China GDP growth slows to 7.4%

China’s GDP growth slipped to 7.4% year-over-year in the third quarter, the seventh consecutive quarter of declining growth, Bloomberg reported. The growth figure was slightly below 7.6% growth in the second quarter but matched economist expectations, according to a Bloomberg survey of 43 economists. However, the pace of retail sales, industrial production and fixed-asset investment growth each increased in September, signs that the economy may be rebounding. Industrial production growth rose to 9.2% from 8.9% in August, while retail sales increased to 14.2%. Growth in fixed-asset investment, excluding rural households, improved to 20.5%. Hong Kong-based Barclays economist Chang Jian said those improvements make it less likely for the government to further cut interest rates or inject liquidity into the market. “Economic growth is stabilizing on the back of the more accommodative monetary conditions and the increasing infrastructure investment,” he said.