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BEIJING: China’s industrial production grew again for the first time this year in April, official data showed on Friday (May 15), as the country continued its gradual recovery after the coronavirus halted activity.
Industrial production grew more than expected 3.9 percent year-on-year last month in a sign that China, where the pathogen first emerged, is recovering from the tough blockade measures now seen in other parts of the world. world.
A Bloomberg survey of analysts forecast growth of 1.5 percent.
But retail sales remained in contracting territory, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, indicating that consumer demand remains weak despite China’s initial success in containing the outbreak.
Retail sales fell 7.5 percent from a year earlier, an improvement from a 15.8 percent drop in March.
Industrial production growth last month was better than the 1.1 percent contraction in March and the 13.5 percent collapse in the first two months of this year, the first time that industrial production slowed in three decades as the virus devastated the economy.
However, unemployment rose 0.1 percent from March to 6 percent, adding to concerns about a post-pandemic rebound.
Nomura analysts said in a recent report that markets may have been “overly optimistic” about a rapid recovery in China, signaling the collapse of external demand due to the spread of the pandemic and the growing threat of a second wave of infections. by COVID-19.
They added that a moderate rebound in locally transmitted cases in recent days also remains a concern, as China gradually relaxes the rules of social distancing, noting that business recovery is mixed in different sectors.
“Retail sales during this year’s Labor Day holiday still declined 6.7 percent from last year, and revenue from the catering and lodging industries only recovered to about 70 percent from normal levels, “Nomura said.
