Signs of hope for the recently weakening Chinese economy: In August, both retail sales and industrial production picked up significantly more than experts expected thanks to the latest measures by the central bank and government as well as the travel boom in the summer. However, investments in the real estate sector, which has recently been struggling with problems, have continued to fall significantly.
According to data published by the State Statistics Office on Friday, retail sales increased by 4.6 percent in August compared to the previous year, after only increasing by 2.5 percent in July. Experts surveyed by Bloomberg had on average only expected an increase of three percent.
Industrial production climbed 4.5 percent in August, after an increase of 3.7 percent in the previous month. Here, the experts’ average estimate was just under four percent.
The Chinese government and central bank have done a lot to stimulate the economy in recent weeks. This is not really getting off the ground after the many problems caused by the corona pandemic.
For example, in mid-August, following disappointing retail sales and production data, the monetary authorities further reduced interest rates in order to generally stimulate demand. The government also took some measures to address the problems in the real estate sector.
“Perhaps the peak of pessimism is behind us,” said Ding Shuang, an expert at British bank Standard Chartered, which has a strong presence in Asia. “August data shows that the economy is unlikely to suffer from a sustained, deeper downturn, although some volatility is still expected – especially if we take the political factor into account.” (dpa)