A look at China's October economic data

China's economic growth remained "largely stable" in October, although downside pressure has continued to grow.

China's economy has continued to expand and develop as the government continues to push reforms and open up its market, despite persistent pressure from external uncertainties and domestic structural adjustments.

Readings of major economic indicators released by the National Bureau of Statistics revealed continued growth in the first 10 months of 2019, with value-added industrial output expanding 5.6 percent year-on-year.

The growth rate was flat compared with that of the first three quarters. In October alone, industrial output climbed 4.7 percent, down from the 5.8 percent registered in September.

Fixed-asset investment grew 5.2 percent, while retail sales of consumer goods rose 8.1 percent between January and October, both slightly retreating from the Q1-3 rate.

While short-term factors led to fluctuations in some of the indicators, overall economic activity remained stable as reflected in growth, employment, inflation and international balance of payments, NBS spokesperson Liu Aihua said at a news conference.

"The trend of overall economic stability with signs of improvement has not changed," Liu said.

1CPI up 3.8%

China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 3.8 percent year-on-year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The growth rate, which was up from 3 percent in September, reached an annual high.

Consumer prices in the first 10 months rose an average of 2.6 percent from a year earlier, the bureau said. On a month-by-month basis, consumer prices edged up 0.9 percent last month.

2PPI down 1.6%

China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, dropped 1.6 percent year-on-year in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said. The reading expanded from the 1.2-percent decline in September.

On a monthly basis, PPI rose 0.1 percent last month, the same rise as September, according to the NBS.

In the first 10 months, the PPI on average declined 0.2 percent from that in the same period last year.

3PMI falls

The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector fell to 49.3 in October from 49.8 in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

The purchasing managers' index for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 52.8 in October, down from 53.7 in September.

4Industrial output up 4.7%

China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 4.7 percent year-on-year in October, down from the 5.8 percent registered in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

In the first 10 months, the indicator climbed 5.6 percent year-on-year.

The growth rate was flat with that in the first three quarters, according to the NBS.

5Fixed-asset investment up 5.2%

Fixed-asset investment in the first 10 months rose by 5.2 percent year-on-year, down by 0.2 percentage points from the January-September period.

The FAI amounted to 51.09 trillion yuan ($7.26 trillion) in the January to October period, NBS data showed.

FAI includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.

6Property investment up 10.3%

China's investment in property development grew 10.3 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2019, down from 10.5 percent for the first nine months, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

The total property investment during the January-October period stood at 10.96 trillion yuan, the NBS said.

7 Retail sales up 7.2%

China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 7.2 percent year-on-year in October to 3.8 trillion yuan, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The pace was 0.6 percentage points lower than the previous month.

The retail sales figure rose 8.1 percent year-on-year in the January-October period, 0.1 percentage points lower than the first 9 months.

8Foreign trade down 0.5%

Foreign trade in October decreased by 0.5 percent to reach 2.71 trillion yuan. Exports increased by 2.1 percent in yuan terms last month, while imports fell 3.5 percent, according to the General Administration of Customs.

Foreign trade in the first 10 months increased by 2.4 percent year-on-year to reach 25.63 trillion yuan. The trade surplus stood at 2.35 trillion yuan in the first 10 months, expanding 42.3 percent from one year earlier.

9New yuan loans fall

China's new yuan-denominated loans reached 661.3 billion yuan in October, a year-on-year drop of 35.7 billion yuan, central bank data showed.

The M2, a broad measure of money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 8.4 percent year-on-year to 194.56 trillion yuan at the end of October, according to the People's Bank of China.

10FDI up 7.4%

Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland reached 69.2 billion yuan, up 7.4 percent year-on-year in October.

The FDI expanded 6.6 percent year-on-year to 752.41 billion yuan in the January-October period, according to the Ministry of Commerce.

In US dollar terms, FDI inflow grew 2.9 percent year-on-year to $110.78 billion during the period, the ministry said.

11Fiscal revenue up 3.8%

China's fiscal revenue increased 3.8 percent year-on-year to around 16.77 trillion yuan in the first 10 months of 2019, according to the Ministry of Finance.

The central government collected about 8.07 trillion yuan in revenue during the period, up 4.4 percent year-on-year, while local governments saw revenue up 3.3 percent to about 8.7 trillion yuan, data showed.

12Job market remains stable

China's job market generally remained stable, with the surveyed urban unemployment rate dropping 0.1 percentage points to 5.1 percent last month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

A total of 11.93 million new urban jobs were created during the first 10 months, meeting this year's target of adding more than 11 million urban jobs ahead of schedule, according to the bureau.

13Power use up 4.4%

China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rose 4.4 percent year-on-year in the first 10 months of 2019, the National Energy Administration said.

Total power use hit 5.92 trillion kWh during the period, NEA data showed.

In October alone, the country's power use grew 5 percent year-on-year to 579 billion kWh.

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