- 'Party atmosphere': Skygazers treated to another aurora show
- Kyrgyzstan opens rare probe into glacier destruction
- European Mediterranean states discuss Middle East, migration
- Thunberg leads pro-Palestinian, climate protest in Milan
- Stock markets diverge before China weekend briefing
- EU questions shopping app Temu over illegal products risk
- Han Kang's books sell out in South Korea after Nobel win
- Shanghai markets sink ahead of briefing on mixed day for Asia
- Investors, analysts eye bigger China stimulus at Saturday briefing
- Musk unveils robotaxi, pledges it 'before 2027'
- At least 11 dead in Florida but Hurricane Milton not as bad as feared
- Asian markets mixed after Wall St drop, Shanghai dips before briefing
- Automaker Stellantis says CEO will retire in 2026
- Musk's promised robotaxi unveil delayed
- On US coast, wind power foes embrace 'Save the Whales' argument
- At least 10 dead in Florida after Hurricane Milton spawns tornadoes
- Internet Archive reels from 'catastrophic' cyberattack, data breach
- Wall Street stocks retreat from records on US inflation data
- Israel strikes central Beirut, killing 22
- Solar storm could impact US hurricane recovery efforts: agency
- Delta eyes Election Day travel pullback as profits climb
- Florida battered by hurricane, floods but spared 'worst-case scenario'
- UK's William and Kate in first joint public engagement since cancer treatment
- Over 200 women in legal talks with Harrods over Fayed abuse claims
- A very stiff breeze: BBC says sorry for 20,000 kph wind forecast
- Musk finally unveiling his long-promised robotaxi
- London's Frieze art fair goes potty for ceramics
- US, Europe stocks fall on US inflation data
- US consumer inflation eases to 2.4% in September
- Hurricane Milton tornadoes kill four in Florida amid rescue efforts
- South Korea's Han Kang wins literature Nobel
- Ikea posts fall in annual sales after lowering prices
- Stock markets diverge, oil gains after China rebounds
- World can't 'waste time' trading climate change blame: COP29 hosts
- South Korean same-sex couples make push for marriage equality
- Mumbai declares day of mourning for Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- 7-Eleven owner restructures to fight takeover
- Sri Lanka recovering faster than expected: World Bank
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as most markets track Wall St record
- Uniqlo owner reports record annual earnings
- Hong Kong, Shanghai rally as markets track Wall St record
- Indonesia biomass drive threatens key forests: report
- Mumbai mourns Indian industrialist Ratan Tata
- China opens $71 bn 'swap facility' to boost markets
- Asian markets track Wall St record as Hong Kong, Shanghai stabilise
- 'Denying my potential': women at Japan's top university call out gender imbalance
- China's central bank says opens up $70.6 bn in liquidity to boost market
- Youth facing unprecedented wave of violence, UN envoy warns
- 'A casino in every kitchen': Brazil's online gambling craze
- Nobel chemistry winner sees engineered proteins solving tough problems
RBGPF | -1.03% | 59.49 | $ | |
RYCEF | 0.58% | 6.92 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.14% | 24.555 | $ | |
NGG | 0.88% | 66.265 | $ | |
BTI | -0.04% | 35.095 | $ | |
RIO | 0.55% | 67.21 | $ | |
GSK | -1.03% | 38.811 | $ | |
AZN | 0.25% | 77.06 | $ | |
SCS | 2.48% | 12.92 | $ | |
CMSD | -0.28% | 24.7 | $ | |
RELX | 1.51% | 47.07 | $ | |
VOD | -0.78% | 9.665 | $ | |
BCC | 1.95% | 141.71 | $ | |
JRI | 0.08% | 13.23 | $ | |
BCE | 0.27% | 32.95 | $ | |
BP | -0.48% | 32.185 | $ |
China retail sales up in New Year after Covid reopening
Chinese retail sales rebounded in January and February as Beijing abandoned its suffocating zero-Covid policy, reopening borders and ending mandatory quarantine, and the country celebrated the Lunar New Year holiday.
The 3.5 percent growth, released by the National Bureau of Statistics, came in line with expectations and was much better than the 1.8 percent drop suffered in December, indicating the world's number two economy was picking up after years of painful restrictions.
And with Beijing this week announcing it will resume issuing tourist visas, there is a hope for a further improvement this year.
China usually releases January and February economic data together to ensure they are not skewed by the long Chinese New Year holiday.
Fixed-asset investment also showed an improvement, rising 5.5 percent in January-February -- beating forecasts of 4.5 percent growth -- as the government poured billions of dollars into building new railways and industrial parks, NBS data showed.
However, industrial output expanded 2.4 percent -- below the 2.6 percent expected.
"Production and demand have improved significantly, and employment and prices are generally stable," the NBS said in a statement.
"The economy is showing signs of stabilisation and recovery."
China has set an economic growth target of "around five percent" for 2023, one of the lowest in decades.
But Premier Li Qiang has warned that even this was "not easy" to achieve as a grinding property crisis continued and global demand slowed.
In a sign of the troubles facing the property sector, the NBS figures showed investment in real estate fell 5.7 percent in January-February as it continues to feel the effects of a government crackdown to curb risky borrowing by developers.
The unemployment rate rose to 5.6 percent in February, up 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, with that for 16- 24-year-olds at 18.1 percent.
The government has warned that a global slowdown will hamper the country's recovery from pandemic-era damage.
China's exports for January and February fell 6.8 percent compared to the year before, due to low global demand.
Zhiwei Zhang from Pinpoint Asset Management said: "The economic data released today confirmed the recovery in China was well on track. This is consistent with the strong credit growth released earlier."
A.Mykhailo--CPN