China: Drop in nominal fixed investment continues to moderate in January-April
Nominal urban fixed asset investment fell 10.3% in the first four months of the year compared to the same period in 2019. The print followed the 16.1% year-to-date drop in March and was broadly in line with the 10.0% contraction that market analysts had expected.
Although all sub-categories posted sizeable contractions in the January-April period, the declines were less steep than in the previous month, especially in the primary and tertiary sectors. In terms of ownership, investment in fixed assets of state-owned enterprises posted a much softer decline in the period compared to the still-large drop in investment among private companies.
On a month-on-month basis, investment in urban fixed assets rose a seasonally-adjusted 6.2% in April, following the 6.1% rise in March.