Tuesday's official data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) came in below expectations for an increase of 6.0% in a Reuters poll of analysts.
Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, jumped 3.1% in March, slowing from a 5.5% increase in the January-February period. Analysts had expected retail sales to grow 4.6%.
Urban fixed asset investment expanded 4.5% in the first three months of 2024 from the corresponding period a year earlier, versus expectations for a rise of 4.1%. It grew 4.2% in the January-February period.