China’s retail sales skyrocket in the first two months of the year

China’s industrial output grew 5.9 percent year-on-year in the first two months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said. Growth slowed from 6.2 percent in December but beat market expectations of 5.3 percent.

China is consolidating its January and February macroeconomic data to smooth out the impact of the Lunar New Year holiday, which falls on a different date each year.

The slowdown in growth came amid slower growth in the manufacturing sector, which grew 6.9 percent from 7.4 percent in December 2024. Meanwhile, mining growth accelerated to 4.3 percent from 2.4 percent. Within the manufacturing sector, 36 out of 41 major sectors saw growth, including 10.6 percent in the computer and communications sector, 6.6 percent in non-ferrous metallurgy, 12.0 percent in the automobile industry, and 9.5 percent in the chemical industry. On a monthly basis, industrial production shrank by 0.51 percent in February. In 2024, industrial production grew by 5.8 percent.

China’s retail sales grew by 4.0 percent in the first two months of 2025, accelerating from 3.7 percent growth in December, in line with market expectations. This was the strongest retail sales growth since October last year, boosted by increased consumption during the Spring Festival.