CHONGQING, CHINA – NOVEMBER 5, 2023 – High-rise buildings are seen in downtown Chongqing, China, November 5, 2023. (Photo by Costfoto/NurPhoto via Getty Images)Nurphoto | Nurphoto | Getty ImagesBEIJING — China on Wednesday reported better-than-expected retail sales and industrial data for October, while the real estate drag worsened. Retail sales grew by 7.6% last month from a year ago, above the 7% growth forecast by a Reuters poll.Industrial production rose by 4.6% year-on-year in October, faster than the 4.4% pace predicted by the Reuters poll.Fixed asset investment for the first 10 months of the year grew by 2.9% from a year ago, missing expectations for a 3.1% increase.Investment into real estate fell by 9.3% during that time, a steeper decline than the 9.1% drop reported for the first nine months of the year.”Clearly, the property sector remains a weak spot for the economy, which requires further support in the foreseeable future,” Hao Zhou, chief economist at Guotai Junan International, said in a note.Funds raised by property developers fell at a steeper pace of 13.8% in October for the year so far, versus a 13.5% drop as of September.National Bureau of Statistics spokesperson Liu Aihua said real estate remained in a “transition period of adjustment.” That’s according to a CNBC translation of her Mandarin-language remarks.She claimed that in October, there was “marginal improvement” in real estate development and commercial housing sales.Real estate and related sectors have accounted for about a quarter of China’s gross domestic product.UBS analysts estimated that share has declined to about 22% this year. New home sales have dropped, while large property developers such as Country Garden have defaulted on their debt.Unemployment at 5%The urban unemployment rate was 5%, th …
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