(Bloomberg) -- Gross domestic product increased 6.5 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, compared to 6.6 percent in a Bloomberg survey and down from the 6.7 percent pace in the previous quarter.
- Industrial output rose 5.8 percent last month from a year earlier, versus the forecast of 6 percent, the statistics office said
- Retail sales increased 9.2 percent in September, compared with the forecast 9 percent
- Fixed-asset investment climbed 5.4 percent in the first nine months, versus a forecast of 5.3 percent
- The urban monthly surveyed unemployment rate stood at 4.9 percent at end-September
China’s economy faced increasing headwinds in the third quarter, with worsening trade tensions and the government’s deleveraging campaign undercutting growth. Those problems prompted officials to step up stimulus, but the impact of those measures has yet to kick in and more may be needed.
"We expect further escalation of US-China trade tensions going into 2019, which will likely be partially offset by CNY adjustment and more growth-supportive fiscal and monetary policies," wrote JPMorgan (NYSE:JPM) economists led by Zhu Haibin, who expect growth to slow to 6.1 percent next year. "We expect fiscal and monetary policies to become more growth-supportive, providing a lift to headline GDP growth," they wrote.