China GDP: 5.3% first-quarter rise better than expected as recovery regains momentum

Fixed-asset investment grew by 4.5 per cent in the first three month from a year earlier, compared with an increase of 4.2 per cent rise in the first two months of the year.

Property investment, a key drag to the GDP growth last year, fell by 9.5 per cent in the first quarter year on year, compared to a fall of 9 per cent in the first two months of the year.

Meanwhile, private investment – a gauge of investor confidence – grew by 0.5 per cent in the first three months of the year.

China’s industrial output rose by 4.5 per cent year on year last month.

And the overall urban unemployment rate stood at 5.2 per cent in March, compared with 5.3 per cent in the first two months of the year.

Ding at Standard Chartered Bank estimated China’s economy would grow by 4.8 per cent this year due to challenges in the second half of the year.

More to follow …