Indicators
China’s Economic Slump Fuels Call for Stronger Policy Action
- Industrial output growth slows, retail sales contract
- Beijing has ramped up support for property market recently
Retail sales contracted for the first time since May, dropping 0.5% from a year earlier.
Photographer: Qilai Shen/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
China’s economic activity weakened in October, putting pressure on Beijing to ramp up support after it took major steps in the past week to reduce the drag on consumers from Covid Zero policies and a property slump.
Retail sales contracted 0.5% in October from a year earlier -- the first decline since May and worse than economists’ expectations for 0.7% growth. Industrial output growth weakened, property investment continued to contract and the jobless rate remained high.