Chinas Jan-Feb industrial output rises 2.4% y/y; retail sales up 3.5% y/y

BEIJING (Reuters) – Chinas industrial output in the first two months of 2023 rose 2.4% from the year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, accelerating from a 1.3% annual rise seen in December.

The data slightly missed a 2.6% rise forecast in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Retail sales in January-February were up 3.5% on a year earlier, reversing Decembers 1.8% annual fall. Analysts had forecast retail sales to grow by 3.5% in the first two months.

Fixed asset investment in the first two months was 5.5% higher than in the same period of 2022 versus expectations for a 4.4% rise. For all of 2022, fixed asset investment was up 5.1% on the previous year.

Late in 2022 the government abandoned strict curbs on mobility that had been an increasingly severe restraint on factory activity and consumption. But Chinas economic recovery faces challenges including sluggish demand for exports and geopolitical uncertainties.

(Reporting by Kevin Yao, Qiaoyi Li and Ellen Zhang; Editing by Bradley Perrett and Tom Hogue)