China: Industrial output growth wanes in July
Industrial production increased 6.4% year-on-year in July (June: +8.3% yoy). July’s figure marked the worst reading since August 2020 and was weaker than market expectations. Factors such as flooding, higher raw material costs and anti-pollution curbs likely all weighed on momentum. July’s figure was partly driven by a deterioration in manufacturing production, which grew at the slowest pace since August 2020. Meanwhile, energy output picked up pace.
On a monthly basis, industrial production increased 0.3% in seasonally-adjusted terms in July, which was below June’s 0.6% expansion and marked the worst result since February 2020. Meanwhile, the trend improved modestly, with the annual average growth of industrial production coming in at plus 12.6% in July, up from June’s 12.5%.