China's gross domestic product (GDP) in the fourth quarter of 2017 grew by 6.8% yoy against expectations of 6.7%. The latest data issued by the National Statistics Office are as follows:
- Quarterly GDP growth of 1.6% against expectations of 1.7%.
- Retail sales rose year-on-year in December by 9.4% against expectations of 10.2%.
- Industrial production rose 6.2% against expectations of 6.1%.
The comments of the Bureau of Statistics on the data as follows:
- Economic performance is improving better than expected.
- The economy is improving at a steady pace throughout 2017.
- Consumption contributed 58.8% to GDP in 2017.
The Chinese government has been targeting growth rates of 6.5% over the past year. After the release of today's data, investors' confidence in the Chinese economy rose as the economy grew faster than expected.