BEIJING (CNBC) — China
reported a drop in retail sales and industrial production in April — far worse than analysts had expected.
Retail sales fell by 11.1% in April from a year ago, more than the 6.1% decline predicted in a Reuters poll.
Industrial production dropped by 2.9% in April from a year ago, in contrast with expectations for a slight increase of 0.4%. The output of mining and utilities businesses grew.
But manufacturing fell by 4.6%, mostly dragged down by a slump in the auto sector and equipment manufacturing, said Statistics Bureau Spokesperson Fu Linghui. In addition to COVID, he said industrial production faces pressure from insufficient market demand, rising costs and other factors.
Last month, the persistent spread of COVID and resulting stay-home orders — primarily in Shanghai — forced factories to close or operate at limited capacity.
The “increasingly grim and complex international environment and greater shock of the COVID-19 pandemic at home obviously exceeded expectation, new downward pressure on the economy continued to grow,” the statistics bureau said in a statement. The bureau said the impact of COVID is temporary and that the economy “is expected to stabilize and recover.”