Retail sales in China in October fell for the first time in 5 months

According to the data from the National Bureau of Statistics of China, in October, the growth of industrial production slowed down, and retail sales fell for the first time in 5 months.

In particular, the volume of industrial production increased by only 5% compared to October last year (after rising by 6.3% in September). Experts on average predicted an increase of 5.2%.

Analysts note that the slowdown in production growth suggests that China's economy is gradually losing momentum to growth amid the rise in the incidence of Covid-19 in the country, as well as strict quarantine restrictions. However, it is worth noting that the latest statistics reflect the indicators of October, when quarantine breaks and a softening of the «zero tolerance» policy for coronavirus have not yet been introduced in the country. 

Retail sales in China in October decreased by 0.5% y/y after an increase of 2.5% a month earlier. Analysts predicted an increase of 1%.

Unemployment remained at the level of September – 5.5%. Investments in fixed assets in China have increased by 5.8% since the beginning of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021. Experts expected an increase of 5.9%.