China's industrial output growth accelerates more-than-expected at the start of the year

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday that China's industrial production increased at a faster-than-expected pace in the first two months of the year. Industrial output expanded 6.3 percent year-over-year in the January to February period, slightly above the 6.2 percent rise expected by economists.

Month-on-month, industrial production increased 0.6 percent in February, compared with a 0.46 percent rise in December. Data for the first two months were combined to even out the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday as most businesses and factories remain closed during the period.

Fixed asset investment annual growth outside rural households improved to 8.9 percent in the January-February period, compared to the expected growth of 8.2 percent. For the full year of 2016, investment had advanced only 8.1 percent.

​On balance, today's data suggest that China's economy remained strong at the start of 2017," said Julian Evans-Pritchard, economist at Capital Economics.