China growth slows to 7.7 per cent in first quarter
16 April 2013 6:05 AM IST
Growth in China slowed to 7.7 per cent in the first quarter, data showed on Monday, fuelling fears that a recent pick-up in the world’s number-two economy is faltering on weak overseas demand.
The figure for January-March from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) compared with a median eight per cent forecast in a poll of economists by AFP and marked a slowdown from 7.9 per cent in the previous quarter. Observers have expressed optimism China’s economy will be a driver of a global recovery and the pick-up at the end of last year – which snapped seven straight quarters of slowing – reinforced those hopes.
But analysts said Monday’s data and a series of other downbeat figures recently point to a weak outlook and questioned whether policymakers would be able to address it. The GDP statistics unsettled investors, who pushed the Shanghai Composite Index down more than one per cent to close at its lowest level since the end of December.
The figure for January-March from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) compared with a median eight per cent forecast in a poll of economists by AFP and marked a slowdown from 7.9 per cent in the previous quarter. Observers have expressed optimism China’s economy will be a driver of a global recovery and the pick-up at the end of last year – which snapped seven straight quarters of slowing – reinforced those hopes.
But analysts said Monday’s data and a series of other downbeat figures recently point to a weak outlook and questioned whether policymakers would be able to address it. The GDP statistics unsettled investors, who pushed the Shanghai Composite Index down more than one per cent to close at its lowest level since the end of December.
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