China’s industrial output and consumer spending have fallen short of expectations, fuelling doubts over the strength of the country’s rebound after it dismantled its zero-Covid policy.Youth unemployment hit a record while a key measure of investment also lagged estimates, casting a shadow over the outlook for the world’s second-largest economy.
Industrial production added 5.6 per cent last month from a year earlier, well below forecasts of a 10.6 per cent rise. Retail sales expanded 18.4 per cent year on year, also missing forecasts. The high rates of growth partly reflect a contrast with lockdowns last year in Shanghai, the country’s biggest city.
Tuesday’s data added to a growing sense that the economy had failed to fully recover following the removal of strict anti-Covid curbs late last year, with a lingering property crisis and concerns over trade activity also clouding the outlook.