China's economy slows more than expected in April

China’s economic activity weakened more than expected last month on flagging factory demand. Value-added industrial output, a rough proxy for economic growth, rose by 6.5% in April from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. The number was more than a percentage point under March’s rise and well below what many economists had predicted. Fixed-asset investment, money used to buy and build machinery, buildings and other fixed facilities, grew 8.9% in the first four months of 2017 from a year earlier. That was slower than expected and a bit less than the January-March period. Retail sales grew 10.7% in April on year, a slight slowdown from March’s increase. According to The Wall Street Journal, the weaker April data dovetails with other signs that China’s massive economic engine is losing steam after achieving 6.9% growth in the first quarter. Industrial metal prices have fallen; auto sales declined in April; and property sales also decelerated sharply in April year on year.