(Bloomberg) -- China’s economic momentum weakened a notch in August, with a continued slowdown in investment overshadowing solid retail sales and industrial production data.
- Industrial output rose 6.1 percent in August from a year earlier, versus a projected 6.1 percent in a Bloomberg survey and 6 percent the previous month
- Retail sales expanded 9.0 percent from a year earlier, versus a forecast 8.8 percent
- Fixed-asset investment rose 5.3 percent year-on-year in the first eight months, compared with an estimated 5.6 percent and 5.5 percent the previous month
- The surveyed jobless rate in urban areas stood at 5.0 percent, versus 5.1 percent in July
Today’s data indicate that while industrial output and consumption are improving slightly, the policies the government has announced in recent months to spur investment have yet to take root. Credit data in August were stronger than expected overall, although the growth in bank lending is still slowing due to the effects of the campaign to cut leverage.
"China’s economy is on a gradual deceleration trend, but at this moment it’s still fine," Larry Hu, a Hong Kong-based economist at Macquarie Securities Ltd, said on Bloomberg TV. "The government won’t change the direction of deleveraging. They will only change the pace of it, because the economy is still fine at this stage."
Infrastructure investment slowed to 4.2 percent in the first eight months, the slowest since the data series started in 2014. That means policies to expedite such spending haven’t fed through to construction yet.
"Despite the credit easing measures, the demand side has failed to catch up," said Raymond Yeung, chief greater China economist for Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Hong Kong. "It takes time. On the bright side, we see that both corporate and local governments have increased bond issuance. Activity will likely pick up later this year."
Output of computer and communication gadgets surged 17.1 percent from a year earlier, hinting at front-loading by exporters assuming that more tariffs from the U.S. will hit.
However, there are some signs that one risk to the economy may be receding, with China and the U.S. talking about resuming talks over their trade dispute. Although the differences between the two sides are still vast and trust is limited after the collapse of earlier talks in May, if successful, the negotiations would remove one threat for the economy and the government.