China’s gross domestic product, the world’s second-largest economy, grew by 5.4% in the fourth quarter of last year, according to data released Friday morning by the National Bureau of Statistics, compared to a growth of 4.6% in the third quarter and better than market expectations of 5.0%.
This acceleration in growth, which was supported by recent stimulus measures in the last quarter, helped raise full-year GDP growth to 5% last year, in line with the official target.
Unemployment rates rose to 5.1% in December from 5% in the free zones, while retail sales rose by 3.7% in December on an annual basis compared to 3% in December last year, exceeding expectations that indicated a rise to 3.5%
. Chinese industrial production expanded by 6.2% in December on an annual basis, better than expectations of 5.4%. Fixed asset investment, in turn, rose for the entire year to 3.2%, below expectations of 3.3% growth, affected by the slowdown in real estate investment, which fell by 10.6%.