China's November industrial output steps up as recovery gathers pace

BEIJING: China’s industrial output grew in line with expectations in November, expanding for the eighth straight month as the economic recovery gathered pace and global demand picked 

Industrial output growth quickened to 7.0% in November from a year earlier, data from the National Statistics Bureau showed on Tuesday. That was in line with analyst expectations in a Reuters poll and faster than the 6.9% expansion in October.

China’s economy has staged an impressive recovery from its COVID-19 paralysis earlier this year, mainly driven by robust exports.

An annual sales promotion extravaganza in November by China’s e-commerce giants has also open consumers’ wallets in a further boost to orders for small factories.

Retail sales rose 5% on-year, just missing analysts’ forecast for 5.2% growth but faster than the 4.3% increase in October.

Auto sales saw 11.8% growth and sales of household appliances grew 5.1% in November. Communications equipment sales jumped by 43.6%.

Fixed-asset investment rose 2.6% in January-November from the same period last year, in line with a forecast 2.6% growth and faster than a 1.8% increase in the first 10 months of 2020.

Private-sector fixed-asset investment, which accounts for 60% of total investment, rose 0.2% in January-November, compared with a 0.7% decline in the first 10 months of the year.

China’s economic recovery looks to be accelerating in the fourth quarter, driven by stronger demand, credit growth and stimulus measures expected to provide a strong tailwind into 2021.

Factory activity growth hit a more than three-year high in November, an official survey showed, as fewer COVID-19 infections boosted consumer confidence.

Exports also surged at their fastest pace in almost three years thanks to hot demand for personal protective equipment and electronics products for working from home.

However, tougher measures to contain the coronavirus imposed by the country’s trading partners have created shipping bottlenecks, pushing up transportation costs and capping the speed of China’s recovery.