Instant view: China's Q3 GDP grows 4.9% y/y, beats market forecast
(Reuters) — China's economy grew at a faster-than-expected clip in the third quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, suggesting the recent recovery may carry enough steam to reach Beijing's full-year growth target.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9% in July-September from the year earlier, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed, versus analysts' expectations in a Reuters poll for a 4.4% increase but slower than the 6.3% expansion in the second quarter.
On a quarter-by-quarter basis, GDP grew 1.3% in the third quarter, accelerating from a revised 0.5% in the second quarter, and the rate was above the forecast for growth of 1.0%.
Thanks to a slew of policy measures in recent months, the world's second-biggest economy has started to show signs of stabilising, but a protracted property crisis, uncertainties over employment and household income and weak confidence among private firms pose risks to a durable revival.
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KEY POINTS
* Q3 GDP +4.9% y/y (f'cast +4.4%, Q2 +6.3%)
* Q3 GDP +1.3%% q/q s/adj (f'cast 1.0%, Q2 +0.5%)
* Sept industrial output +4.5% y/y (f'cast +4.3%, Aug +4.5%)
* Sept retail sales +5.5% y/y (f'cast +4.9%, Aug 4.6%)
* Jan-Sept fixed asset investment +3.1% y/y (f'cast +3.2%, Jan-Aug +3.2%)
* Jan-Sept property investment -9.1% y/y (Jan-Aug -8.8%)
* Jan-Sept property sales by floor area -7.5% y/y (Jan-Aug -7.1%)
MARKET REACTION: The yuan strengthened as much as 0.35% to 7.2905 per dollar after the data release, before giving up some gains. The Chinese currency on Tuesday hit one-month lows, pressured by the firming dollar, a weak economy, and a widening yield gap between China and the U.S. The yuan has lost
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