China Apr retail sales fall by 11.1%, industrial output drops by 2.9%

The unemployment rate rose to 6.1 per cent and the youth jobless rate hit a record. Major cities like Shanghai locked down for several weeks and restrictions in many other places cutting into spending, shutting factories and blocking supply chains, according to a global newswire.

The zero-tolerance approach has evoked criticism from businesses, cultivated public frustration and has put Beijing’s ambitious full-year growth target of around 5.5 per cent further out of reach.

Gross domestic product (GDP) declined by 0.68 per cent in April from a year ago, the first contraction since February 2020, according to estimates from Bloomberg Economics. Growth could weaken to below 2 per cent in the second quarter, according to UBS Group AG, while S&P Global Ratings predicted it could be as low as 0.5 per cent.

Disruptions in the country are worsening the global growth outlook and complicating the inflation picture. Supply chain snags have affected companies while export growth slowed last month to the weakest pace since June 2020.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)