China's industrial output grew 7.0 percent in April from a year earlier, much more than expected, but fixed-asset investment growth slowed to 7.0 percent in the first four months, below forecasts, official data showed on Tuesday.
Analysts had predicted industrial output growth would rise to 6.3 percent, bouncing back from a softer-than-expected 6.0 percent reading in March.
Investment growth had been expected to ease only slightly to 7.4 percent in the first four months from the same period a year earlier, compared with 7.5 percent in January-March.
The private sector fixed-asset investment rose 8.4 percent in January-April, slowing from growth of 8.9 percent in the first three months.
Private investment accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in China.
China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 9.4 percent year on year to reach 2.85 trillion yuan (about US$450 billion) in April, official data showed on Tuesday.
The expansion dropped slightly from the 10.1-percent rise seen in March, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The data showed sales in rural areas gained 10.6 percent in April, outpacing the 9.2 percent in urban areas.
In breakdown, the catering sector reported a 9.6-percent year-on-year rise in revenue, while sales of other consumer products increased 9.4 percent.
Online spending continued to be robust, with sales surging 32.4 percent to reach 2.58 trillion yuan in the Jan.-April period, up 0.4 percentage points than the same period last year.
Consumption has been a key economic driver for China and contributed to 77.8 percent of economic growth in the first quarter, up from 58.8 percent in 2017.
China's economy grew at a slightly faster-than-expected pace of 6.8 percent in the first quarter, well above Beijing's target of around 6.5 percent for the full-year.
But economists have stuck by forecasts that its momentum will cool later in the year, even if Beijing and Washington can reach a compromise in their heated trade dispute.
(Source: Jiangsu International Channel)
