China's economy recovery gains pace in October

China's economy continued to recover in October, with major indicators growing faster than expected, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Wednesday.

Industrial output increased by 4.6 percent year on year. The growth rate was 0.1 percentage point higher than the previous month and faster than the 4.4 percent uptick predicted in a Reuters poll.

Retail sales grew 7.6 percent year on year in October, 2.1 percentage points higher than the previous month, exceeding Reuters poll of a 7 percent rise.

The growth of retail sales was attributed to the continued effectiveness of policies, the strong demand for travel and tourism during the National Day holiday, and the pre-sale of the "Double Eleven" shopping festival, a Chinese online shopping extravaganza, according to Liu Aihua, spokesperson for the NBS.

Consumer prices fell 0.1 percent month on month in October, and 0.2 percent year on year.

The extended decline in food prices, especially pork prices, was the main contributor to the drop in prices, but the core consumer price index (CPI) remained stable overall, said Liu.

The core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.6 percent year on year and remained unchanged on a monthly basis.

Prices will gradually rebound from the low level and deflation will not occur, according to Liu.

Fixed asset investment continued to expand, with investment in high-tech industries growing faster. From January to October, fixed asset investment grew by 2.9 percent year on year.

The development of high-tech and intelligent manufacturing industries is improving with the production of new energy vehicles jumping 27.9 percent year on year in October, and the production of solar cells soaring 62.8 percent, according to the NBS.

The national urban unemployment rate remained at 5.0 percent in October, unchanged from the previous month.

The International Monetary Fund raised China's 2023 GDP growth forecast to 5.4 percent last week, up 0.4 percentage point from its October projection, in indications that the country's economy is gaining further growth momentum.