China’s economic recovery slows in April after Q1 boom

After record expansion in the January quarter, growth in April, including retail sales, slowed, showing uneven recovery.

China’s economy has slackened in April from the jump seen in the previous month as factory output slowed and retail sales missed analyst expectations, indicating more pressure on the recovery in consumption. Industrial production grew 9.8 percent in April from a year ago, slower than the 14.1 percent surge in March, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Monday but matching a consensus forecast by analysts from a Reuters poll. China’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by a record 18.3 percent in the first quarter and many economists expect growth will exceed 8 percent this year.