China Economic Pickup Tops Forecasts Before Tariff Pain Deepens

Chinese consumption, investment, and industrial production exceeded estimates to start the year, pointing to signs of resilience for an economy still in need of more stimulus as US President Donald Trump's tariffs threaten growth.

- BLOOMBERG

Retail sales increased 4 percent in January-February from the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday, exceeding economist forecasts and accelerating from a 3.7 percent gain in December. But unemployment climbed from the end of last year.

Industrial output rose 5.9 percent, higher than the median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of analysts. Growth in fixed-asset investment picked up to 4.1 percent.