Explainer | China’s April economic data delivers ‘mixed bag’: 6 takeaways as property slump drags on
- Property investment in China dropped by 9.8 per cent year on year in the first four months of 2024, while retail sales rose by 2.3 per cent year on year in April
- China’s industrial output remained strong and rose by 6.7 per cent from a year earlier, while fixed-asset investment growth slowed
1. Retail sales ‘broadly stagnant’
“Domestic demand looks to have softened, with growth in retail sales cooling from 3.1 per cent year on year in March to 2.3 per cent, well below expectations and consistent with sales being broadly stagnant in levels terms,” said analysts at Capital Economics.
National Bureau of Statistics spokeswoman Liu Aihua said “certain indicators like retail sales saw a slowdown due to factors such as holidays and a higher base in the same period last year.”
The largest drag to retail sales in April was tied to auto sales, according to Lynn Song, chief economist for Greater China at ING, while household appliances also slowed.
“Consumption growth is likely to remain moderate through most of 2024, as consumer confidence remains downbeat amid tepid wage growth and the lingering negative wealth effects from the past several years of declining asset prices,” he said.