China's Q1 GDP disappoints at 7.7%

China’s GDP growth slowed to 7.7% in the first three months of the year, declining from 7.9% in the fourth quarter and missing expectations, Reuters reported, citing today’s release by the National Bureau of Statistics. A Reuters poll put consensus estimates for first-quarter growth at 8% year-on-year. Many analysts expected a rise in liquidity and stronger exports in the first quarter to translate to accelerated GDP growth. Industrial output grew 8.9% year-on-year in March, below expectations of 10%, while retail sales grew 12.6%, slightly faster than the expected 12.5%. In the first quarter, fixed-asset investment rose 20.9% compared to analyst expectations of 21.3%.