China’s economy cools in May as Beijing’s efforts to reduce debt levels start to bite
Fixed-asset investment in first five months grows at slowest rate since records began in 1998; monthly retail sales growth slowest in 15 years
China’s US$12 trillion economy suffered a downturn in May as retail sales expanded by their slowest rate in 15 years and fixed-asset investment growth in the first five months was the slowest on record, according to official figures released on Thursday.
Retail sales, a key measure of consumer spending, rose by just 8.5 per cent year on year in May, its slowest rate since June 2003. Car sales in the month fell by 1 per cent from a year earlier, while industrial production, another pillar of growth, also lost steam, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
Fixed-asset investment – the single biggest driver of the world’s second-largest economy – in the January-May period increased by 6.1 per cent year on year, the slowest rise of any period since records began in 1998.
The weaker economic performance, along with weak credit and the uncertainty caused by trade tensions with the United States, could point to a lower headline growth rate in the second half of the year and beyond, analysts said.
