China‘s economy registered 4.7 percent year-over-year growth for the second quarter, missing analysts’ consensus of 5.08 percent, according to a survey conducted by Wind, a local financial data provider.
Based on data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday, China‘s economy expanded 4.7 percent from April to June, slowing from the first quarter’s 5.3 percent expansion. In the first half of 2024, China’s economy expanded 5 percent year-over-year, according to NBS data.
Apart from a faltering real estate market and high unemployment rate, factors including extreme weather and weak local demand are challenges facing the economy, according to a NBS spokesperson.
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The world’s second-largest economy has a goal of 5 percent GDP growth for 2024.
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According to ING, more policy support will need to be put in place in order to achieve this year’s 5 percent growth target.
“Stabilizing home prices should be the top priority in order to support confidence, and if policy support continues to roll out we could see some positive signs in the coming months,” wrote ING’s chief economist of Greater China Lynn Song.
“Nonetheless, the actual drag on GDP growth will likely persist for an extended period of time, as even if prices bottom out, there is still a high level of inventories that need to be digested before new investment takes place,” Song continued.
Key economic directives and even stimulus plans are expected to come out of The Third Plenum of the 20th National Congress, which is held in Beijing every five years and runs from Monday to Thursday.
On the retail front, sales of consumer goods rose 2 percent to reach 4.073 trillion renminbi, or $626.49 billion, in June, a slowdown compared to May’s 3.7 percent increase, and the lowest rise since December 2022.
For the first half of 2024, online retail sales amounted to 7.099 trillion renminbi, or $1.09 trillion, an increase of 9.8 percent year-on-year.
Sales of apparel goods declined 1.9 percent year-over-year to 123.7 billion renminbi, or $19.03 billion, in June. For the first half of 2024, the category grew 1.3 percent.
Sales of cosmetics goods fell 14.6 percent year-over-year in June to 40.5 billion renminbi, or $6.23 billion. Sales of gold and jewelry dropped 3.7 percent year-over-year to 26.2 billion renminbi, or $4.03 billion in June.