China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released its economic data for July, which came in well below analysts’ expectations, and warned of a high global inflation risk.
According to NBS, retail sales rose 2.7% year-on-year in July. This was below analysts’ expectations of a 5% increase and slower than the 3.1% rise in June.
In the retail sector, sales declined in the catering, furniture and construction-related goods sectors.
Automobiles, one of the most valuable categories in China’s retail sector, saw a 9.7% increase in sales, while gold, silver and jewelry posted a strong 22.1% increase.
China’s July industrial production rose 3.8%, below analysts’ forecast of 4.6%, and down from a 3.9% gain in June.
Meanwhile, fixed asset investment in the first seven months of this year increased 5.7% year-on-year.
Investment in real estate slowed in July compared with June, while investment in production declined. Infrastructure investment increased slightly compared with June.
In addition, the unemployment rate in China for 16-24 year olds is 19.9%, while the unemployment rate for all age groups in urban areas is 5.4%.
“The Chinese economy is still in a period of recovery,” NBS said, but the NBS warned of the risk of high inflation worldwide.