China’s gross domestic product, the second largest economy in the world, recorded a rebound in GDP growth of 4.5% in the first quarter of this year ending in March, according to data released this morning, Tuesday, April 18th, from the National Bureau of Statistics, compared to a growth of about 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Better than market expectations, which indicated a growth of about 4.0%. On the other hand, unemployment rates fell to levels of 5.3% in the first quarter from 5.5 (expectations of 5.5%).

In the details, the added value of services increased by 5.4% in the first quarter, while the value of primary industries increased by 3.7%, and the value of secondary industries increased by 3.3% and agriculture by 3.6%.

On the other hand, retail sales increased by 10.6% in March, the largest increase since June 2021, compared to an increase of 3.5% in February, exceeding expectations that indicated an increase of 7.3%.

Investment in fixed assets increased by 5.1% on an annual basis in the first quarter, down from 5.5% in the fourth quarter of last year and below expectations, while Chinese industrial production grew by about 3.9% in March compared to 2.4% in February, which was less than expected, as it was affected by a decline 22% in the production of computer equipment.