China March industrial output rises 4.5%, misses expectations

China's March industrial output grew 4.5% from a year earlier, slowing from the 7.0% pace seen in the January-February period, increasing pressure on policymakers to offer more stimulus to bolster an uneven economic recovery.

Tuesday's official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came in below expectations for an increase of 6.0% in a Reuters poll of analysts.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, jumped 3.1% in March, slowing from a 5.5% increase in the January-February period. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 4.6%.


Urban fixed asset investment expanded 4.5% in the first three months of 2024 from the corresponding period a year earlier, versus expectations for a rise of 4.1%. It grew 4.2% in the January-February period.