INVESTING.COM – China growth data topped expectations Monday.
GDP for the second quarter was up 6.9% year-on-year with growth in the second quarter coming in at 1.7%.
Fixed asset investment was also up, with increases between January to June of 8.6% on year, ahead of expectations. Property investment increased 8.5% in the first half of the year. Retail sales were also positive, increasing 11% in June from a year earlier. Fixed-assed investment in non-rural areas increased 8.6% in the first half of the year.
Value-added industrial output in June rose by 7.6%. A proxy for economic growth, the increase was higher than the 6.5% reported in May, according to the National Bureau of Statistics. Month-on-month, industrial productions increased 0.81% in June, 0.3% higher than in May.
China's growth target for the year is around 6.5%, compared to the 6.7% target for 2016, which growth was at its lowest point in 26 years. Growth for the first half of the year is now at 6.9%, which gives the govenrment some room to accept slightly lower growth in the second half.