China’s economic growth slowed in the latest quarter to a six-year low of 6.9%, despite repeated interest rate cuts and other stimulus measures.
The figure released on Monday compared with a year-on-year expansion of 7% in the previous quarter. Although it was slightly better than economists expected, the rate was the slowest since the 6.2% recorded in the first quarter of 2009 during the global recession.
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The GDP figures were part of a swath of data released on Monday giving another snapshot of the world’s second biggest economy, which has seen stuttering growth in recent months after years of rapid expansion.
It was also the first official confirmation of investors’ fears about economic growth since a Chinese stock market slump coupled with a surprise currency devaluation in July and August.
The output of China’s huge manufacturing sector cooled more than expected to 5.7% in September, disappointing analysts who expected it to rise 6% on an annual basis after a rise of 6.1%the prior month.
Fixed-asset investment growth eased to 10.3% year-on-year in the January-September period, also missing market expectations. But retail sales rose by a better-than-forecast 10.9%.