China's August Retail Sales Rise 0.4% as Investment Slump Deepens to 7.2%

3 articles · Updated · CNBC · Sep 15

Retail sales grew just 0.4% in August, down from 0.6% in July and below the 0.8% forecast, adding pressure on Beijing as consumer demand stayed weak.
Fixed-asset investment shrank 7.2% in January-August, worsening from a 6.7% decline through July, while the statistics bureau warned of an acute imbalance between strong supply and weak demand.
Industrial output rose 5.2% in August, beating the 4.8% forecast and accelerating from 4.5%, but unemployment still edged up to 5.3% from 5.2%.
China's economy grew 4.3% in the second quarter, drifting from the 4.5%-5% annual target, and policymakers have so far stuck to incremental support rather than broad stimulus.
Credit data already pointed to fragile demand: new bank loans rose only 60 billion yuan in August versus a roughly 400 billion yuan forecast, reinforcing calls for more fiscal support.