China’s woes mount as industrial output growth falls to a 17-year low
The country is increasing support for the economy as 2019 growth looks set to plumb 29-year lows, but these measures are taking time to kick in
Beijing — Growth in China’s industrial output fell to a 17-year low in the first two months of the year, pointing to further weakness in the world’s second-biggest economy that is likely to trigger more support measures from Beijing. But a mixed bag of major data on Thursday also showed property investment is picking up, while overall retail sales were sluggish but steady, suggesting the economy is not in the midst of a sharper slowdown at present. China is ramping up assistance for the economy as 2019 growth looks set to plumb 29-year lows, but support measures are taking time to kick in. Most analysts believe activity may not convincingly stabilise until the middle of the year. Premier Li Keqiang last week announced hundreds of billions of dollars in additional tax cuts and infrastructure spending, even as officials vowed they would not resort to massive stimulus like in the past, which produced swift recoveries in China and strong reflationary pulses worldwide. “The latest data s...
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