China: Industrial output growth eases in March
Industrial output increased 5.0% year-on-year in March (January–February: +7.5% yoy), above market expectations. March’s figure was largely due to a deterioration in manufacturing output growth. In addition, energy production decelerated. In contrast, mining production accelerated.
On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, industrial output rose at a softer pace of 0.4% in March (February: +0.5% mom). Meanwhile, the trend pointed down, with the annual average growth of industrial production coming in at 6.0% in March, down from February’s 6.8% reading.