Guangzhou (JLC), December 15, 2023 – China's economy continued to improve in November, with industrial output, service output, retail sales, imports and exports all posting year-on-year growth, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.
Industrial output growth accelerates
In January-November, China's value-added industrial output, a gauge of activities in the manufacturing, mining and utilities sectors, grew 4.3% year on year (YoY), accelerating from 4.1% registered in January-October, the NBS data indicated.
In November, China's value-added industrial output rose 6.6% YoY, accelerating from 4.6% registered in October, the NBS data showed.
In breakdown, output from the mining sector increased 3.9% YoY in November, output from the manufacturing sector grew 6.7% YoY, and output from the electricity, heat, gas and water sectors gained 9.9% YoY in November, the NBS said.
Service sector continues to grow
In January-November, China’s nationwide service production index gained 8.0% YoY, accelerating from 7.9% registered in January-October.
The index grew 9.3% YoY in November, accelerating from 7.7% recorded in October, suggesting the service sector still expanded strongly, the NBS data showed.
In breakdown, production index of the catering and accommodations sector grew 30.6% YoY in November, while the index from the transport, logistics and postal services sector grew 15.1% YoY. The wholesale and retail production index gained 11.9% YoY in November.
Retail sector improves strongly
In January-November, China's retail sales for consumer goods, a key measurement of consumer spending, gained 7.2% YoY to CNY42.79 trillion.
Online sales of goods came in at CNY11.77 trillion in January-November, gaining 8.3% YoY, indicating that the e-commerce still flourished.
In November, China's retail sales of consumer goods increased 10.1% YoY to CNY4.25 trillion, the NBS said.
Fixed-asset investment keeps expanding
In January-November, China's fixed-asset investment went up 2.9% YoY to CNY46.08 trillion, the NBS data showed.
In breakdown, fixed-asset investment in infrastructure and manufacturing gained 5.8% and 6.3% YoY in January-November, respectively.
However, investment in the property sector dropped 9.4% YoY in January-November. Meanwhile, home sales value shrank 5.2% YoY to CNY10.53 trillion in January-November, the NBS data showed, suggesting the property sector was still sluggish.
Import & Export largely stable
In January-November, the value of imports and exports of goods (in CNY terms) totaled CNY37.96 trillion, flat from the same period in 2022.
Export value gained 0.3% YoY to CNY21.60 trillion in January-November, while import value contracted 0.5% to CNY16.35 trillion in these months.
In November, total value of imports and exports of goods (in CNY terms) reached CNY3.70 trillion, growing 1.2% YoY, the NBS data showed.
Export value gained 1.7% YoY to CNY2.10 trillion in October, while import value gained 0.6% YoY to CNY1.60 trillion in the month.
Unemployment rate lower YoY
The urban surveyed jobless rate was 5.0% in November, unchanged from October, the NBS data showed. The reading was lower than the 5.7% registered in November 2022.
