BEIJING, Oct 18 — China’s industrial output rose 3.1 per cent in September from a year earlier, missing expectations, and slowing from 5.3 per cent in August, official data showed on Monday.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected output to rise 4.5 per cent.

Retail sales grew 4.4 per cent in September on-year, compared with a forecast 3.3 per cent increase and a 2.5 per cent rise in August.

Fixed asset investment increased 7.3 per cent in the first nine months from the same period a year earlier, missing expectations for a 7.9 per cent rise and slowing from an 8.9 per cent jump in January-August.

China’s economy has staged an impressive rebound from the Covid-19 pandemic but has recently shown signs of losing momentum, weighed down by power shortages, supply bottlenecks, sporadic Covid-19 outbreaks and regulatory crackdowns on sectors from tech to property. — Reuters