Fixed asset investment in China eased during the month of June, slightly missing market expectations. Also, growth in the economy stabilized against the backdrop of pick up in lending and consumer spending.
China’s fixed asset investment eased slightly to 9 percent y/y during the six-monthly Jan-June period, against a Reuters poll of 9.4 percent, compared to 9.6 percent during the month of May, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed Friday.
Further, private sector fixed-asset investment growth slowed to 2.8 percent in January to June, compared with 3.9 percent growth in the first five months of the year. Also, property investment rose 6.1 percent year on year in the first half, down from 7.2 percent in the first four months and 7 percent in the January-May period, data showed.
In terms of floor area, property sales jumped 27.9 percent in the first six months, slower than the 33.2-percent gain in the first five months. Sales revenue surged 42.1 percent in the first half, compared with the 50.7-percent gain in the first five months, the NBS said.
By the end of June, 714.16 million square meters of property was still unsold in China, down by 7.53 million square meters from a month earlier. In the first half, investment in residential property grew 5.6 percent, representing 66.8 percent of total property investment.
Meanwhile, industrial output and retail data for June beat estimates, investment slowed, and a report from the central bank showed the broadest measure of new credit beat all 29 analyst forecasts.
The People’s Bank of China is, therefore, in no need to boost support for the world’s second-largest economy after holding the benchmark interest rate at a record low since October and cutting the required-reserve ratio for big banks in February, Bloomberg reported.
