Chinese Economy Grows Slower Than Expected in 2021 After 4% Expansion in Q4

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China

China’s fourth-quarter economic growth came in faster than projected, given the steady boost in production, but this was not enough to bring the full-year figure up economists’ expectations. MCHI is down 0.11% premarket.

• The fourth-quarter gross domestic product climbed by 4% from a year ago, faster than the 3.5% forecasted in a Reuters poll.
• The latest reading brought the full-year GDP to 114.367 trillion yuan or 8.1% up from the previous year, slower than the 8.4% expected.
• Industrial production in December climbed by 4.3%, with auto production marking its first expansion since April by 3.4%.
• Fixed asset investment for the full year climbed by 4.9%, with real estate investments up 4.4% while infrastructure investments grew 0.4%.
• Manufacturing investments jumped by 13.%, led by special-purpose machinery, which gained 24.3%.
• Retail sales grew by only 1.7% in December from the previous year, significantly slower than the 3.7% predicted in a poll.
• The National Bureau noted complications and uncertainties in the external environment, along with “triple pressure” of demand contraction, supply shock, and weakening expectations in the domestic front.