China factory production growth slows

Growth in China’s factory production slowed to 8.9% in August while the country’s retail sales increased at a steady rate.

The National Bureau of Statistics data released today suggests Beijing might need to launch more stimulus efforts to reverse a painful slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

The year-on-year growth in August factory production was a slowdown from 9.2% in July.

The bureau says retail sales rose 13.2% year-on-year in August, which was 0.1% higher than the growth rate in July.