China's industrial output grew by 4.8 percent year-on-year in July, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
The growth rate was 1.5 percentage points lower compared with June. The high-tech manufacturing sector expanded by 6.6 percent in July, year-on-year, faster than the overall industrial growth rate, according to the NBS.
Total retail sales of consumer goods rose 7.6 percent year-on-year to 3.3 trillion yuan ($471 billion) in July, down by 2.2 percentage points from the previous month.
Speaking at a news conference, NBS spokeswoman Liu Aihua said that the Chinese economy continued to perform within a reasonable range in July, but is facing growing downward pressure given the complicated and uncertain external environment.
The weaker growth of retail sales was largely driven by slower sales of automobiles in July. But sales in other sectors, such as restaurant and entertainment, continued to see faster growth in July, according to Liu.
1CPI up 2.8%
China's consumer price index, a main gauge of inflation, rose 2.8 percent year-on-year in July, up from 2.7 percent in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The reading beat market expectations of 2.7 percent. On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices edged up 0.4 percent last month.
2PPI down 0.3%
China's producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, dropped 0.3 percent year-on-year in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
On a month-on-month basis, the PPI dropped 0.2 percent last month, narrowing from the 0.3-percent drop recorded in June.
3PMI sees uptick
The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector grew to 49.7 in July, up from 49.4 in June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.
4Industrial output up 4.8%
China's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 4.8 percent year-on-year in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
The growth rate was 1.5 percentage points lower than that recorded in June.
On a monthly basis, the industrial output edged up 0.19 percent from June.
5Fixed-asset investment up 5.7%
China's fixed-asset investment grew 5.7 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2019, 0.1 percentage points lower than the growth in the first half-year.
Fixed-asset investment amounted to 34.89 trillion yuan in the first seven months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Fixed-asset investment includes capital spent on infrastructure, property, machinery and other physical assets.
6Property investment up 10.6%
China's investment in property development grew 10.6 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2019, down from 10.9 percent in January-June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
Total property investment during the January-July period was 7.28 trillion yuan.
7 Retail sales up 7.6%
Total retail sales of consumer goods were 3.3 trillion yuan in July, a 7.6 percent year-on-year increase, and 2.2 percentage points lower than in June.
China's retail sales of consumer goods rose 8.3 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of the year, and growth dipped from an increase of 8.4 percent registered in the first six months, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
8Foreign trade up 5.7%
Foreign trade in July expanded by 5.7 percent to reach 2.74 trillion yuan. Exports grew by 10.3 percent in yuan terms last month, while imports increased by 0.4 percent, as per data from the General Administration of Customs.
Trade surplus stood at 310.26 billion yuan in July, up 79 percent year-on-year.
9New yuan loans fall
China's new yuan-denominated loans reached 1.06 trillion yuan in July, according to the People's Bank of China.
The M2, a broad measure of the money supply that covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 8.1 percent year-on-year to 191.94 trillion yuan at the end of July.
10FDI inflow rises 8.7%
Foreign direct investment into the Chinese mainland reached 54.82 billion yuan, up 8.7 percent year-on-year in July.
The FDI expanded 7.3 percent year-on-year to 533.14 billion yuan in the January-July period, according to the Ministry of Commerce.
In US dollar terms, FDI inflow grew 3.6 percent year-on-year to $78.8 billion during the period, the ministry said.
11Fiscal revenue up 3.1%
China's fiscal revenue increased 3.1 percent year-on-year to over 12.56 trillion yuan in the first seven months of 2019.
The country's central government collected more than 6.04 trillion yuan during the period, up 3.3 percent year-on-year, while local governments saw fiscal revenue up 3 percent to about 6.52 trillion yuan, according to the Ministry of Finance.
12Job market remains stable
China's job market remained generally stable in July.
The surveyed urban unemployment rate was slightly up from 5.1 percent in June to 5.3 percent, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.
13Power use up 4.6%
China's electricity consumption, a key barometer of economic activity, rose 4.6 percent year-on-year in the first seven months of 2019, according to the National Development and Reform Commission.
Total power use hit 4.1 trillion kilowatt hours in the January-July period.
In July alone, the country's power use grew 2.7 percent year-on-year, retreating 2.8 percentage points from that in June.
