China’s retail sales grow slower than expected

According to the National Bureau of Statistics data, China’s retail sales showed lower growth than anticipated in the previous month, while industrial production beat.

November’s retail sales grew by 3.8%, below a Reuters poll’s 4.7% rise forecast.

The results came as auto sales declined despite China’s big Singles Day shopping festival held online at the beginning of November.

Online sales of physical goods increased by a slower 13.3% pace in the previous month than October’s 14.7%. Head of macro and strategy research at China Renaissance, Bruce Pang, said that it resulted from Singles Day spending. He said that uncertainties are covering the recovery pace of the economy in China. In fact, he anticipates the country to increase its support for growth in the following months.

Overview of the previous month

In November, industrial production increased by 3.9%, topping the poll’s 3.7% expectation.

Fixed asset investment for the year through November rose by 5.3% from the same period last year. It rose slower than the poll’s forecast 5.5% gain.

The data showed that investment in manufacturing and real estate development increased for the first ten months but at a slower pace.

Investment in manufacturing rose 13.8%, compared to a 14.3% increase in the first 11 months of this year. Real estate investment increased by 7% in the 11 months of 2021 versus 7.3% in the first ten months of 2021.

Chief economist and Pinpoint Asset Management Zhiwei Zhang said that the economy stayed relatively weak in the previous month. He mentioned the further decline in domestic consumption resulting in a downshift in the real estate sector and tight fiscal policy.

Moreover, Zhang said that the fiscal policy might be supportive, unlike the zero-tolerance policy that might remain unchanged. Meanwhile, the property outlook still seems unclear. He added that they still wait to see if policy supports are able to stabilize the Chinese economy in the following months.