China’s March industrial output rises 3.9%; retail sales up 10.6%

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s industrial output rose 3.9% in March year-on-year, official data showed on Tuesday, accelerating from a 2.4% increase in the first two months but missing expectations slightly amid a post-COVID economic recovery.

Retail sales rose 10.6%, beating forecasts for a 7.4% increase by a large margin. It was also faster than the 3.5% increase in January-February.

Fixed asset investment in January-March slowed to 5.1% growth year-on-year, versus expectations for a 5.7% increase. It grew 5.5% in the January-February period.

Chinese policymakers have pledged to step up support for the world’s second-largest economy this year after dismantling COVID-19 curbs in December.

(Reporting by Joe Cash, Qiaoyi Li and Ellen Zhang; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)