China industrial production rises in October, slightly misses market expectations

Industrial production in China rose during the month of October, slightly missing market expectations, further raising questions about the sustained pace of recovery that the economy is undergoing lately.

China’s industrial production expanded 6.1 percent on year in October, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday. That was unchanged from the previous month, although it missed expectations for a gain of 6.2 percent.

The bureau also said that retail sales were up an annual 10.0 percent, also beneath expectations for 10.7 percent, which would have been unchanged from the September reading. Further, fixed-asset investment gained 8.3 percent on year, beating forecast for a gain of 8.2 percent, which would have been unchanged.

Moreover, retail sales, which track private and government spending, rose just 10 percent year-on-year, down sharply from September’s 10.7 percent gain. A separate gauge of annual fixed-asset investment, a proxy for long-term spending, increased 8.3 percent in the January-October period. Further, urban investment rose 8.2 percent in the year to September. Economists forecast retail sales to improve in October. Industrial production and fixed-asset investment were forecasted to hold steady.

China’s economic growth steadied at 6.7 percent in the third quarter, matching gains in the previous two quarters. In addition, Beijing’s ongoing realignment is placing downward pressure on the global economy, which for decades relied heavily on Chinese runaway growth.

At 5:20GMT, the USD/CNY currency pair was trading 0.04 percent lower at 6.81, compared to previous close of 6.82, while at 5:00GMT, China's benchmark stock index, Shanghai Stock Composite Index was trading 0.56 percent higher at 3,214.29.