China’s industrial output and consumer spending have fallen short of expectations, fuelling doubts over the strength of the country’s rebound after it dismantled its zero-COVID policy, reports the Financial Times. Youth unemployment hit a record while a key measure of investment also lagged estimates, casting a shadow over the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy.
Industrial production added 5.6% last month from a year earlier, well below forecasts of a 10.6% rise. Retail sales expanded 18.4% year on year, also missing forecasts. The high rates of growth partly reflect a contrast with lockdowns last year in Shanghai, the country’s biggest city.
Tuesday’s data added to a growing sense that the economy had failed to fully recover following the removal of strict anti-COVID curbs late last year, with a lingering property crisis and concerns over trade activity also clouding the outlook.