The
Chinese economy reported a better than forecast growth in the second quarter, buoyed
by strong industrial production, but household consumption remained weak.
The
world’s second-largest economy registered a growth of 3.2 percent in the April-June
quarter on annual basis, following a whopping contraction of 6.8 percent in the
previous three months. Analysts were in favor of a 2.2 percent expansion.
In
the first half of this year, China recorded a contraction of 1.6 percent, where
today’s growth is still 1.6 percent below the growth pace in the last quarter
of 2019 and the 6.8 percent average expansion before the pandemic.
Industrial
production climbed 4.8 percent in June from a year earlier, but retail sale
plunged 1.8 percent, reflecting the weakness in household spending.
Despite
the better than forecasts growth figures, China’s CSI 300 index sagged 4.81 percent,
noting that Chin’s stock market has dropped 7 percent since Monday, falling
from its highest level in five years.
As for the offshore
yuan, it traded 0.24 percent down at 6.9988 per dollar, as worries in markets
pushed the dollar up for the first time in five sessions.