Weak retail sales, China's economy at risk of slowing

China's retail sales growth fell below expectations, as did fixed asset investment. China's economy is expected to slow down in the last quarter of this year.

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On Wednesday (15/December), China's National Bureau of Statistics published data on retail sales which rose by 3.9 percent year-over-year in November. This figure is lower than the achievement of 4.9 percent in October, as well as lower than expectations of a 4.6 percent increase.

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Retail sales data is quite important because it measures consumption which contributes more than half of China's GDP. Thus, the slowdown this time can be said to underline the economy which is facing weak domestic demand.

Meanwhile, Fixed Asset Investment slowed down quite drastically from 6.1 percent to 5.2 percent year-to-date. In fact, analysts only project a slowdown to 5.4 percent.

Industrial Production recorded an increase from 3.5 percent to 3.8 percent in November, exceeding expectations of a 3.6 percent increase. The good data is largely supported by the increase in high tech manufacturing by 15.1 percent on an annual basis. In fact, output for electric vehicles jumped by 112 percent from the previous year.


China's Economic Growth Threatened to Weak

Overall, the release of China's economic data today is quite mixed, with a significant decline in the consumption and investment sectors. This condition is a challenge for policy makers. Not only that, increasingly complex problems abroad also overshadow the economy.

"In general, the national economy still maintains momentum and economic indicators remain within a reasonable range despite the slowdown in several sectors... However, it should be noted that increasingly complex and severe international dynamics are creating many obstacles for the domestic economy," China's National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement. this morning.

China's economy is expected to grow by only 4 percent in the final quarter of 2021, a far cry from the 18.3 percent growth achieved in the previous quarter. Worries about a hard landing have led many to assume that the Chinese government needs to intervene in the economy.

In an official statement late last week, the Chinese government warned that it was facing "three pressures at once" from a demand contraction, a supply shock and weaker expectations. Responding to this, President Xi Jinping is committed to placing stability as a top priority in economic policy making in 2022. 

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