China June industrial output growth slows, retail sales miss expectations by large margin

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's industrial output rose 5.3% in June from a year earlier, slowing from 5.6% in May, as sluggish domestic demand continued to weigh on the country's patchy economic recovery.

The official data released on Monday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came above expectations for a 5.0% increase in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 2.0% in June, slowing significantly from a 3.7% increase in May. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 3.3%.

Fixed asset investment expanded 3.9% in the first six months of 2024 from the same period a year earlier, in line with expectations. It rose 4.0% during January-May.

(Reporting by Albee Zhang, Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Kim Coghill)