China: Industrial production gains further steam in March

In March, industrial production expanded 7.6% over the same month last year, coming in above the 6.6% increase in the January-February period. The print beat the 6.3% rise that market analysts had expected and represented the fastest acceleration since December 2014. March’s reading reflected an acceleration in manufacturing output and in electricity, gas and water supply activities. Moreover, the mining subcomponent declined at a softer pace in the same month.

On a monthly basis, industrial production expanded 0.83% in seasonally-adjusted terms in March, up from February’s 0.60% increase. After following a broadly stable trajectory for most of 2016, the trend now is pointing upward. Annual average growth in industrial production inched up from 6.2% in February to 6.3% in March.

For 2017, FocusEconomics Consensus Forecast panelists expect industrial production to grow 5.9%, which is up 0.1 percentage points from last month’s projection. In 2018, the panel sees industrial production growth falling to 5.4%.