Chinese Retail Sales and Industrial Production Top Expectations in August

China reported retail sales growth for August that beat economists’ consensus and picked up from the month before, while most economic indicators also topped estimates.

Retail sales in August rose by 5.4% from the same period last year, beating forecasts from Reuters poll for a 3.5% increase. Meanwhile, industrial production rose 4.2% in August on a yearly basis and beat the consensus for a 3.8% increase from a Reuters poll.

Fixed asset investment for the first eight months of this year topped Reuters’ forecast of 5.5% with an increase by 5.8%.

The highest growth fell to investment in manufacturers that gained 10% from the same period last year.

However, real estate investment in August continued to decline by 7.4% YoY, compared to 5.2% down in July.