China: Nominal fixed investment records lowest expansion since December 2020 in April
Nominal urban fixed asset investment grew 4.7% in year-to-date terms in April (March: +5.1% yoy). April’s outturn marked the worst reading since December 2020. The deterioration was due to slowdowns in the tertiary and secondary sectors. Public investment continues to drive momentum, as do the energy, electronics and automotive subsectors. In contrast, private investment has risen a mere 0.4% so far this year, weighed on by geopolitical tensions with the West, soft overseas goods demand and uncertainty over the government’s attitude to private business in the wake of crackdowns on the technology and education sectors.
On a monthly basis, nominal urban fixed asset investment dropped 0.6% in seasonally adjusted terms in April, a softer decrease than March’s 0.8% fall.