Industrial production in China grew by 5.6% y/y in May

Industrial production in China increased by 5.6% in May this year compared to May last year. This is reported by Reuters with reference to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

Compared to April, this figure increased by 0.3%, and by 6.2% y/y in January-May.

Last month’s industrial production growth in the country fell short of analysts’ expectations (+6% y/y), and the slowdown in the real estate sector showed no signs of abating despite support measures.

Investments in fixed assets increased by 4.2% y/y in the first 5 months of the year. Investment in production in January-May showed a significant increase of 9.6% y/y. This year, China is focusing on «quality improvement» through technological breakthroughs and innovation.

Private sector investment grew by 0.1% y/y in January-May, compared to 0.3% in the first four months, indicating still weak confidence among private businesses. At the same time, investments in the public sector increased by 7.1% y/y in the first 5 months of this year.

Analysts note that the Chinese economy was supported by exports – in May, the country’s production of steel and aluminum increased sharply. However, the weakness of the real estate market still affects household consumption and investment.

In May 2024, China increased steel production by 8.1% compared to the previous month and by 2.7% compared to May 2023 – to 92.86 million tons. Over the past 5 months, the country’s steelmaking companies reduced steel production by 1.4% y/y.