Major Macro Economic Statistics

Data and Graphic 

China inflation eases to 5.5% in Oct

China's consumer price index (CPI), the main gauge of inflation, rose 5.5 percent year-on-year in October, weakening from September's 6.1 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Wednesday.

The October CPI growth marked the slowest surge since May this year, softening from 6.1 percent in September, 6.2 percent in August, 6.5 percent in July and 6.4 percent in June. [Full story]

China's PPI up 5.0% in Oct

China's Producer Price Index (PPI), a main gauge of inflation at the wholesale level, rose five percent in October year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

The reading eased from a growth of 6.5 percent in September. [Full story]

Growth of China's industrial production slows in Oct

China's industrial value-added output grew 13.2 percent year-on-year in October, down from September's 13.8-percent growth,the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

On a monthly basis, output increased by 0.9 percent from September.

In the first ten months, industrial value-added output increased 14.1 percent year-on-year, down 0.1 percentage points from the first nine months. [Full story]

Jan-Oct fixed-assets investment up 24.9%

China's fixed-asset investment rose 24.9 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of the year to 24.1365 trillion yuan ($3.8 trillion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Wednesday.

The fixed-asset investment growth rate was the same as that recorded for the first nine months, said the NBS in a press release on its website. [Full story]

China's retail sales up 17.2% in Oct

China's retail sales grew 17.2 percent year-on-year to reach 1.65 trillion yuan ($262.6 billion) in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

After deducting inflation, actual growth stood at 11.3 percent, the NBS said in a statement on its website.

On a monthly basis, retail sales increased 1.3 percent, according to the statement. [Full story]

China's PMI drops to 50.4% in Oct

China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) dropped to 50.4 percent in October after rising for two consecutive months, down 0.8 percentage point from September, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said Tuesday.

The CFLP report said the drop indicated the country's economic growth might continue to slow down in the fourth quarter but the trend of a moderate economic increase would not change fundamentally. [Full story]

Trade surplus shrinks as imports post surge

China's trade surplus narrowed in October as unexpectedly strong domestic demand lifted imports and weak US and European demand curbed export growth, official data released on Thursday show.

Imports surged 28.7 percent year-on-year to $140.46 billion, the General Administration of Customs said on its website on Thursday. Exports increased 15.9 percent to $157.49 billion, the lowest in five months, the data show.

The result was a trade surplus of $17.3 billion, down 36.5 percent year-on-year. [Full story]

China's Oct fiscal revenue rises 16.9%

China's national fiscal revenue rose 16.9 percent in October from a year earlier to 918.83 billion yuan ($145.38 billion), the Ministry of Finance said on Wednesday.

[Full story]

New loans hit 586.8b yuan in Oct

The People's Bank of China (PBOC), the country's central bank, announced Friday that the nation's new yuan-denominated lending reached 586.8 billion yuan ($92.7 billion) in October, up 17.5 billion yuan year-on-year.

New loans last month also represented a sharp increase from 470 billion yuan in September. [Full story]

China Oct FDI up 8.75%

China attracted $8.33 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in October, up 8.75 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.

The growth rate rebounded from September, when it slowed to 7.88 percent from 11.1 percent in August and 19.83 percent in July, said ministry spokesman Shen Danyang. [Full story]

Comments & Opinion 

Keep the lid on inflation

That China's inflation rate has slowed for three straight months after peaking at a 37-month high of 6.5 percent in July is solid evidence that there is a desired modest slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy.

Undoubtedly, Chinese policymakers can breathe more easily for the moment as their hard fight against inflation is now beginning to bear fruit.

Though the country's consumer price index (CPI) rose 5.5 percent year-on-year in October, still far above the government's full-year target of 4 percent, inflation worries have ostensibly eased amid increasing optimistic forecasts of even lower price gains in coming months. [Full story]

China still attractive to FDI

Industrial transfer to western regions and growth of service sector will help facilitate the distribution of investments

Statistics show that China has managed to absorb a comparatively large scale of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first three quarters of this year, despite the turbulent global economic situation. [Full story]

Financial system needs to serve SMEs

Even during the best of times, it has been difficult for China's small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to get bank loans. But with the current regimen of credit austerity, imposed to contain economic overheating and inflationary pressure, making conditions for SMEs worse, the financial sector is now affecting the country's economic dynamism. [Full story]