Employees working on an air-conditioner production line at a Midea factory in Guangzhou, China.
Jade Gao | AFP | Getty Images
BEIJING — China reported data for July that came in well below expectations.
Retail sales grew by 2.7% in July from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. That's well below the 5% growth forecast by a Reuters poll, and down from growth of 3.1% in June. Within retail sales, catering, furniture and construction-related categories saw declines.
Sales of autos, one of the largest categories by value, rose by 9.7%. The gold, silver and jewelry category saw sales rise the most, up by 22.1%.
Industrial production rose by 3.8%, also missing expectations for 4.6% growth and a drop from the prior month's 3.9% increase.
Fixed asset investment for the first seven months of the year rose by 5.7% from a year ago, missing expectations for 6.2% growth.
Investment into real estate fell at a faster pace in July than June, while investment into manufacturing slowed its pace of growth. Investment into infrastructure rose at a slightly faster pace in July than in June. Fixed asset investment data is only released on a year-to-date basis.
The unemployment rate among China's youth, ages 16 to 24, was a high 19.9%. The unemployment rate across all ages in cities was 5.4%.
"The national economy maintained the momentum of recovery," the statistics bureau said in a statement. But it warned of rising "stagflation risks" globally and said "the foundation for the recovery of the domestic economy is yet to be consolidated."
Analyst forecasts for July were projected to show a pickup in economic activity from June, as China put the worst of this year's Covid-related lockdowns behind it, especially in the metropolis of Shanghai.
Exports remained robust last month, surging by 18% year-on-year in U.S. dollar terms despite growing concerns of falling global demand. Imports lagged, climbing by just 2.3% in July from a year earlier.
However, China's massive real estate sector has come under renewed pressure this summer. Many homebuyers halted their mortgage payments to protest developer delays in constructing homes, which are typically sold ahead of completion in China.
The deterioration in confidence puts developers' future sales — and an important source of cash flow — at risk.
The potential for a Covid outbreak has remained another drag on sentiment. A surge of infections in tourist destinations, especially the island province of Hainan, stranded tens of thousands of tourists this month.
The local situation reflects the large gap between goals set at the beginning of the year and the ensuing reality. Hainan had set a GDP target of 9%, but was only able to grow by 1.6% in the first six months.
Similarly, at a national level, China's GDP grew by just 2.5% in the first half of the year, running well below the full-year target of around 5.5% set in March.
China's top leaders indicated at a meeting in late July the country might miss its GDP goal for the year. The meeting did not signal any forthcoming large-scale stimulus, while noting the importance of stabilizing prices.
The country's consumer price index hit a two-year high in July as pork prices rebounded.
This is breaking news. Please check back for updates.
SHANGHAI: Tesla (TSLA.O) sold 28,217 Chinese-made vehicles in July, nearly two-thirds less than a month earlier as a scheduled upgrade to its factory lines in Shanghai disrupted production.
The U.S. carmaker exported 19,756 Model 3s and Model Ys from China last month, the China Passenger Car Association (CPCA)said. In June, it sold 78,906 vehicles and exported 968.
Tesla China usually exports more cars at the beginning of a quarter while focusing more on domestic sales at the end.
Tesla suspended most of its production at the Shanghai plant in July due to an upgrade that aims to bring the factory’s weekly output to around 22,000 units compared with levels of around 17,000 in June, according to internal memos seen by Reuters.
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The output ramp-up at Tesla’s most productive manufacturing hub comes after production losses during a two-month COVID lockdown in Shanghai hurt the company’s profit margin in the second quarter.
China’s overall passenger car sales in July jumped 20.1% from a year earlier to 1.84 million, the CPCA said.
Sales of electric cars accounted for 26.4% of the total in July and increased 117.3%, it added, with sales of plug-in hybrids outpacing pure electric cars.
The association now expects electric car sales for the whole year could reach 6 million units, higher than an earlier estimate of 5.5 million.
BYD (002594.SZ) led the EV players with 163,042 cars delivered in July, with plug-in hybrids accounting for more than half of its sales.
Nio , Xpeng (9868.HK) and Li Auto (2015.HK) delivered 10,052, 11,524 and 10,422 vehicles, respectively.
Sales of conventional hybrid cars in July also increased 81% from a year ago, with Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) and Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T) leading the segment.
Fast News
At least eight people were injured in explosion at military explosives producer Eurenco's site in Bergerac, southwest France, authorities said.
The Dordogne prefecture in a statement said a fire was burning after several explosions that took place in the afternoon, and all personnel at the site were evacuated.
Of the victims, one was seriously hurt while others suffered slight injuries.
The press release said the situation was under control and there was no risk of the fire spreading.
Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin said significant resources were deployed and a crisis centre was activated at the site.
Eurenco is a major player in defence sector and develops and manufactures explosive materials for military ammunition. It is a Seveso classified site owing to the use of hazardous materials.
READ MORE: Thousands evacuated as wildfires spread further in southwest France
Source: AA
