Michelle ThompsonThe Chinese economy appears to be stabilizing. A rise in both consumption and industrial production were among the positive data released on Friday morning. In comparison, the housing market is still becoming worse.
Starting with consumption, retail sales increased more than anticipated in August, rising by 4.6% year over year, outpacing the forecasted +3% increase and outpacing the preceding 2.5%. Retail sales therefore increased 7% year over year over the first eight months of the year, proving that the reopening would encourage increased consumption.
The pace of activity also picked up in the area of industrial production, which increased by 4.5% year over year compared to the preceding 3.7% and beyond expectations (+3.9% predicted).
Less positive are the statistics from the real estate market, where new housing prices are still declining, declining by -0.29% monthly in August compared to -0.23% earlier, adding up to three straight months of decreases.
