China’s retail sales shrink far more than expected, while industrial production disappoints

BEIJING — China reported economic data Thursday that missed expectations across the board during a month in which widespread Covid controls weighed on growth.

Retail sales fell by 5.9% in November from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

That’s worse than expectations for a decline of 3.7%, according to analysts polled by Reuters, and a greater drop than the 0.5% year-on-year decline in October.

Industrial production grew by 2.2% in November from a year ago, missing Reuters’ forecast for a 3.6% increase. The reported pace was also slower than the 5% increase in October.

Fixed asset investment for the year through November slowed to 5.3% year-on-year growth, missing Reuters’ expectations for a 5.6% increase. The official print was also down from 5.8% growth in the first 10 months of the year.

Investment in infrastructure picked up pace in November from October on a year-to-date basis, while that in manufacturing slowed slightly. Investment in real estate fell at a sharper pace amid the industry’s ongoing slump.

The unemployment rate in cities ticked up to 5.7% in November. The jobless rate for young people ages 16 to 24 remained a far higher 17.1%.

The decline in retail sales brought the year-to-date total down by 0.1% from the first 11 months of last year.

Food and medicine were the only sub-categories that saw sales growth in November from a year ago, according to the statistics bureau. Clothing and shoes saw sales plunge by 15.6%.

Online sales of physical goods rose by just 4% year-on-year in November, down sharply from the prior month, according to CNBC calculations of data accessed through Wind Information.