Mainland industrial output growth at slowest pace in three years
August output growth slows to 3-year low of 8.9pc as inflation rebounds to hit 2pc
Industrial output on the mainland grew last month at the slowest pace in three years, pointing to a worsening slowdown in the economy, official figures showed yesterday.
Meanwhile, price inflation rose for the first time in five months, which could make it more difficult for the central government to take stimulative measures.
The consumer price index rose to 2 per cent last month from 1.8 per cent in July, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed. A 3.4 per cent jump in food prices year on year helped drive the index higher.
Industrial output, a key barometer of gross domestic product, expanded at 8.9 per cent year on year.
That was the slowest pace since May 2009, prompting President Hu Jintao to observe at the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation meeting on Saturday that the world's second-largest economy faced "notable downward pressure".
Several investment banks cut their GDP growth forecasts for this year to less than 8 per cent before the data release, in anticipation of continued weakness in the mainland's economy.
"August data indicated the economy was still on a track of slowing down," HSBC economist Qu Hongbin said.