The economy of China grew 7.0% in the first quarter, as expected but still its slowest rate in six years, reinforcing bets that policymakers will take more steps to bolster growth.
Economists polled by Reuters had expected China’s GDP to rise 7.0 percent in January-March compared with a year ago.
China’s economy grew 7.3 percent on an annual basis in the last quarter of 2014.
On a quarterly basis, economic growth slowed to 1.3 percent between January and March after seasonal adjustments, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday, compared with growth of 1.5 percent in the previous three months.
Factory output climbed 5.6 percent in March from a year ago, below forecasts for a 6.9 percent gain.
Retail sales expanded 10.2 percent compared with expectations for a 10.9 percent gain.
The material has been provided by InstaForex Company – www.instaforex.com