- Shane Oliver, AMP Capital Investors
Chinese industrial production grew less than expect last month, falling behind market forecasts and raising questions about the strength of recovery in the world's second largest economy, official figures revealed on Monday. According to the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics, the country's industrial activity advanced 6.1% on an annual basis in October, unchanged from the preceding month, while market analysts anticipated an acceleration of 6.2% during the reported month. Furthermore, retail sales that track private and government spending increased 10% year-over-year in October, while analysts expected them to remain unchanged at 10.7% last month. Further, China's fixed-asset investment rose 8.3%, compared to the same month one year ago, whereas economists expected an increase 8.2%, unchanged from the prior month. As in the preceding quarters, the Chinese economy expanded 6.7% in the Q3.
As a result, the US Dollar dropped 0.04% against the Chinese Yuan, trading at 6.81 compared to 6.82 ahead of the release. In the meantime, China's benchmark Shanghai Stock Composite Index was seen trading 0.56% higher at 3,214.29 by 5:00 GMT on Monday.
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