China’s industrial production and retail sales rise less than expected in March

News Snapshot:

China's industrial production and retail sales rose less than anticipated in March. China's industrial production grew by 4.5% year-on-year in March 2024, softer than a 7% growth in January-February combined and below market forecasts of 5.4%, marking the softest expansion in industrial output since last September, due to softer rises in all economic activities. On a monthly basis, the industrial output edged down by 0.08%. For the first quarter of the year, industrial output expanded by 6.1%. China's retail sales rose by 3.1% year-on-year in March 2024, falling short of market forecasts of 4.5% and notably slowing from a 5.5%...