China reported second-quarter GDP growth that cjavascript:void(0);ame in slightly below expectations, while retail sales and industrial production grew faster than forecast. The country’s gross domestic product increased 7.9% in the second quarter from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. That fell short of Reuters’ estimate of 8.1% growth for the April to June period. In the first quarter, GDP grew 18.3%, up from a contraction a year ago. That marked a 0.6% increase from the last quarter of 2020. Retail sales rose 12.1% in June from a year ago, more than the expected 11% level forecast by ... (full story)

China’s economy slowed largely in line with economists forecasts in the second quarter, with the recovery showing signs of steadying as consumption accelerated in June. Gross domestic product expanded 7.9% from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday, down from 18.3% in the previous quarter and compared with a median forecast of 8% in a Bloomberg survey of economists. On a two-year average growth basis, which strips out the effect of last year’s pandemic, the economy grew 5.5% last quarter, up from 5% in the previous three months. The recovery has shown signs of plateauing in recent months ... (full story)

Following Q1's record-breaking surge in China's YoY GDP (thanks to base-effect malarkey and a massive credit impulse), tonight's Q2 GDP was expected to slow drastically (especially given the crackdown on investment/real estate deleveraging and the collapse in the credit impulse)...{chart} The question is how much? Consensus estimates called for an 8.0% YoY GDP rise, but whisper numbers were notably lower with Bloomberg Economics' Shu noting that various early indicators are consistent in pointing to some weakening in consumption in June. “On balance, these indicators suggest production growth - after base effects are ... (full story)