Major Macro Economic Statistics

 Urban fixed-assetinvestment: +24.9

 Fiscal revenue:+17.3%

Data and Graphic 

China's inflation eases to 6.1% in Sept

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 6.1 percent in September year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Oct 14.

On a monthly basis, consumer prices rose 0.5 percent in September, said the NBS in a statement at its website.

In the first nine months of this year, China's CPI climbed 5.7 percent from the same period last year, up from 5.4 percent year-on-year in the first half, said the NBS. [Full story]

September PPI rises 6.5% year-on-year

China's Producer Price Index (PPI), a major measure of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 6.5 percent in September year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Oct 14.

September's PPI growth was lower than August's 7.3 percent increase, the NBS said in a statement on its website.

Producer purchase prices in September rose 10 percent year-on-year, and grew 0.1 percent from August, according to the NBS. [Full story]

Industrial value-added output up 13.8% in Sept

China's industrial value-added output rose 13.8 percent year-on-year in September, faster than the 13.5 percent annual growth registered in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Oct 18.

On a monthly basis, the output in September increased 1.2 percent from that of the previous month, NBS Spokesman Sheng Laiyun said at a press conference.

Industrial value-added output measures the final output value of industrial production, or the value of gross industrial output minus intermediate input, such as raw materials and labor costs. [Full story] 

Fixed asset investment up 24.9% in Q1-Q3

China's fixed asset investment rose 24.9 percent year-on-year to 21.23 trillion yuan ($3.33 trillion) in the first nine months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Oct 18.

The growth rate was 0.7 percentage points lower than that during the first six months, said NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun in a press release.

Investment in the primary, secondary and tertiary industries rose 25.5 percent, 26.9 percent and 23.4 percent from last year, respectively, during the passing nine months. [Full story]

China's retail sales up 17% in Q1-Q3

China's retail sales grew 17 percent to 13.0811 trillion yuan ($2.05 trillion) in the first nine months from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on on Oct 18.

In September, the country's retail sales grew 17.7 percent from a year earlier and were up 1.35 percent from August.

Urban retail sales increased 17.1 percent year-on-year to 11.33 trillion yuan in the first nine months, while rural retail sales climbed 16.4 percent to 1.75 trillion yuan, the NBS said. [Full story]

China's PMI rises to 51.2% in Sept

China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) continued its rise in September, hitting 51.2 percent in September from 50.9 percent in August, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) said on Oct 14.

The CFLP report said the 0.3 percentage-point rebound marks the PMI's two-consecutive-month rise, indicating that economic development is continuing to stabilize and that the worries of a hard economic landing are being eased.

But sub-indices of the PMI also show that uncertainties remain in the export sector and prospects for small and mid-sized enterprises are gloomy. [Full story]

China's trade surplus falls by 12.4% in Sept

China's trade surplus fell for the second straight month in September, dropping by 12.4 percent year-on-year to reach $14.51 billion due to sluggish global demand and rising costs in domestic markets, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced on Oct 13.

September exports rose 17.1 percent year-on-year to reach $169.67 billion. Imports surged 20.9 percent to $155.16 billion, the GAC said on its website.

"The export growth was slower than expected. It will decline to 10 to 15 percent in the future as demand continues to weaken," said Chang Jian, an economist at Barclays Capital. [Full story]

China's fiscal revenue rises 17.3% in Sept

The Ministry of Finance (MOF) said on Oct 18 that China's fiscal revenue in September rose 17.3 percent year-on-year to reach 737.7 billion yuan ($115.7 billion).

September's growth took the fiscal revenue in the first nine months to 8.16 trillion yuan, up 29.5 percent from a year ago, according to the ministry. [Full story]

China's FDI rises 16.6% in Jan-Sept: MOC

China attracted $86.68 billion in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the first nine months of the year, up 16.6 percent year-on-year, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Wednesday.

In September alone, the country drew 9.05 billion yuan of actual FDI, up 7.88 percent from a year earlier, said MOC spokesman Shen Danyang. [Full story]

China reports 470b yuan in Sept new loans

China's new yuan-denominated loans in September stood at 470 billion yuan ($73.7 billion), a drop of 131.1 billion yuan from the same month of last year, the central bank said on Oct 14.

The figure brought the total new loans in the first nine months of this year to 5.68 trillion yuan, 597.7 billion yuan less than the same period last year, the PBOC, the country's central bank, said in a statement on its website.

By the end of September, the outstanding broad money supply (M2), which covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 13 percent year-on-year to 78.74 trillion yuan, the statement said.[Full story]

Comments & Opinion 

Inflation eases slightly, pressure remains high

China's Consumer Price Index (CPI) in September dipped slightly from August to 6.1 percent, indicating its inflation eases slightly, while pressure remains high.

It is the second month that China's inflation continued to ease from a 37-month high peak in July, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) of China made the remarks on Friday.

Yao Jingyuan, a former chief economist of the NBS predicted in September that China's CPI growth is to slow down in the coming months, while he assured no optimism towards the easing of the whole inflation picture. [Full story]

Inflation falls for 2nd month

China's consumer inflation slipped to 6.1 percent in September, the second month in a row it has dropped after it hit a three-year high in July.

The decline helped to assuage fears that the country's central bank would try to further tighten the economy during the rest of the year.

The nation's Consumer Price Index (CPI), an important gauge of inflation, has hung at above 6 percent during the past four months, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released on Friday. The index figure peaked at 6.5 percent in July, and retreated to 6.2 in August. [Full story]