Chinese June quarter GDP is out, and it’s beaten expectations.
The economy grew at an annual pace of 7.0% in the three months to June, beating the median market forecast for growth of 6.9%.
Despite the beat, the figure marks the equal-lowest level of growth seen since the March quarter of 2009.
Here’s China’s National Bureau of Statistics on the GDP report.
“In the first half year of 2015, faced with complicated external and domestic economic conditions and increasingly downward pressure, the Central Party Committee and the State Council have adhered to the general tone of “moving forward while maintaining stability”, conducted scientific and accurate macro-regulation and unswervingly pushed forward the system reform and institutional innovation. The national economy has been running within proper range and the major indicators picking up steadily, showing moderate but stable and sound momentum of development.
According to the preliminary estimation, the gross domestic product (GDP) of China was 29,686.8 billion yuan in the first half year of 2015, a year-on-year increase of 7.0 percent at comparable prices. Specifically, the year-on-year growth of the first quarter was 7.0 percent and 7.0 percent for the second quarter. The value added of the primary industry was 2,025.5 billion yuan, up by 3.5 percent; the secondary industry 12,964.8 billion yuan, up by 6.1 percent; and the tertiary industry 14,696.5 billion yuan, up by 8.4 percent. The GDP of the second quarter of 2015 went up by 1.7 percent on a quarter-on-quarter base.”
Not only did the GDP figure beat to the upside, so too did industrial production, retail sales and urban fixed asset investment figures for June.
From a year earlier industrial production rose 6.8%, smashing expectations for an increase of 6.0%. It was also well ahead of the 6.1% pace of May and marked the fastest rate of growth since January 2015.
Retail sales increased by 10.6%, again well ahead of the 10.1% pace of May and expectations for an increase of 10.2%.
Urban fixed asset investment, the laggard of the three in recent years, recorded growth of 11.4%. While in line with the pace achieved in May, it beat the median market forecast for a decline to 11.2%
As reported by Business Insider