Developing | China’s growth engines sputter as retail and investment hit in November

China’s economic indicators logged a further slowdown in November, with consumption and investment showing renewed signs of strain, while the property downturn continued to weigh on overall momentum.

Retail sales, a key gauge of consumer spending, grew in November by 1.3 per cent, year on year, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.

The figure fell short of the 2.92 per cent forecast from financial data provider Wind and marked a drop from October’s 2.9 per cent increase.

Fu Linghui, a spokesman for the bureau, said China’s economy remained stable in November, sustaining the momentum of steady progress. “However, we should be aware that the economy still faces multiple challenges of external instability and uncertainty as well as insufficient effective domestic demand.”

The official said China must adopt more proactive and effective macro policies, and continue to expand domestic demand, improve supply, and optimise the allocation of both new and existing resources.

Fixed-asset investment (FAI) fell by 2.6 per cent in the first 11 months of the year, widening from the 1.7 per cent drop recorded in the January-October period. The result underformed Wind’s projected 2.17 per cent decrease.

Volatility in investment figures has drawn scrutiny and triggered concerns over China’s economic growth momentum. A Goldman Sachs report on Thursday said that around 60 per cent of the year-on-year FAI contraction in October was due to a statistical correction of previously over-reported data, compounded by structural headwinds, including the government’s “anti-involution” policies and a prolonged property downturn.