China: Industrial output disappoints in April
Industrial production rose 5.6% year on year in April (March: +3.9% yoy). April’s result marked the best reading since September 2022, but was almost half the growth that market analysts were expecting. Looking at the details of the release, manufacturing output gained traction in April, while energy output grew at a softer rate and mining output flatlined.
On a monthly basis, industrial output dropped 0.5% in seasonally adjusted terms in April, contrasting March’s 0.3% expansion and marking the worst result since February 2020. Meanwhile, annual average growth of industrial production came in at 3.0% in April.