China's factories churned out goods at their fastest rate in eight months in October, as sectors like electronics and machinery kept the world's sixth-biggest economy buzzing, official data showed on Monday.

Industrial output in October was 17.2 percent higher than a year earlier, accelerating from September's annual rise of 16.3 percent, the bureau said.

It was the fastest clip since an annual 19.8 percent rise registered in February.

"Looking at pillar sectors, the three major industries of telecommunications equipment, machinery and metallurgy...were major forces driving industrial output growth in the month," the State Statistical Bureau said in a statement.

But automobiles, another booming industry that has lifted demand for other industrial goods such as steel and plastic, saw growth brake sharply from the previous month, the bureau said.

Car production was 168,000 vehicles in October, a rise of 52 percent from a year earlier, but that was nearly 18 percentage points slower than September's rise.

That had a knock-on effect in transport-related industries, the bureau said.

"Feeling the effects of slower automobile output, makers of transportation equipment saw their contribution to industrial output growth fall," it said.

Yet may other sectors roared ahead.

Personal computer output doubled in October from a year earlier while production of other kinds of computers rose nearly 58 percent.

Output of home appliances like ovens and microwaves soared more than 50 percent while steel production climbed 25 percent.

Such heated growth has prompted some economists to worry about overcapacity in some sectors, and has led to rising inventories and falling prices.

For the first 10 months, industrial output rose 16.7 from a year earlier. Output rose 16.5 percent year-on-year in the January to September period.



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