China factory output up 5.6pc, retail sales up 1.9pc

China's value-added industrial output increased by 5.6 percent year on year in the first four months of 2026, official data showed on Monday while retail sales of consumer goods, a major indicator of the country's consumption strength, expanded 1.9 percent. In April alone, output grew 4.1 percent year on year and 0.05 percent compared to the previous month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics. Industrial output is used to measure the activity of large enterprises each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan. In terms of sectors, the value added output of the mining sector increased by 5.5 percent year on year in the first four months of the year, while that of the manufacturing sector grew by 5.8 percent. The value-added output of the electricity, heat, gas and water production and supply sectors went up by 4.5 percent. On consumer price increases, a statistician from the bureau said they were affected by fluctuations in international crude oil prices but that the will and capacity of people to spend needed improvement. Fixed-asset investment dropped 1.6 percent in the first four months to 14.13 trillion yuan. Infrastructure investment grew 4.3 percent while manufacturing investment increased 1.2 percent. Excluding the property sector, fixed-asset investment rose 1.3 percent while investment in property development slumped 13.7 percent. The surveyed urban unemployment rate in China stood at 5.2 percent in April, 0.2 percentage points lower than that in March. (Xinhua)