China’s economy has shown signs of a general slowdown, with retail sales and industrial output growing at the most subdued rate this year amid the strains from a trade war with the US and domestic weaknesses, reports the Financial Times. Retail sales rose 3.4% year on year in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday, falling short of analysts’ forecasts of 3.9% and July’s 3.7% gain.
Industrial output grew 5.2% last month against a year earlier, slowing from a 5.7% expansion in July. Both figures were the slowest pace of growth since November 2024.
Fixed asset investment growth for the year to date slowed to 0.5%, less than the 1.4% forecast by economists and the 1.6% figure from January to July.