<div id="readability-page-1"><div id="parent_top_div">China's economic growth lost steam in April as industrial output and retail sales growth sharply missed expectations, as the Asian powerhouse grappled with higher energy costs from the Iran war and sluggish domestic demand. Data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Monday that factory output grew 4.1 per cent from a year earlier last month, compared with a 5.7 per cent rise in March and a Reuters poll forecast for 5.9 per cent growth. It marked the slowest growth since July 2023. Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose just 0.2 per cent in April, cooling sharply from 1.7 per cent in March and marking the weakest gain since December 2022. The figures were also well below forecast, centred on a 2 per cent increase. Household consumption has remained fragile. Domestic car sales dropped 21.6 per cent in April from a year earlier, marking the seventh straight month of decline, even as automakers ramped up efforts to expand in overseas markets to offset weakness at home. Adding to the gloom, fixed-asset investment contracted 1.6 per cent in the first four months of 2026, compared with a 1.7 per cent rise in the January-March period. Economists pointed to a drop in the official construction purchasing managers' index, and heavy rainfalls in parts of southern China as some of the factors dragging on investment growth. The April figures offered early signs that China's first-quarter momentum was already fading. The economy expanded 5.0 per cent in the first three months of the year, at the upper end of Beijing's full-year target range of 4.5 per cent to 5.0 per cent. But analysts have warned that the recovery is running on uneven ground as industrial output continues to outstrip domestic demand. While a protracted downturn in the property market remains a drag on growth, the Middle East conflict has exposed the economy to external risks at a time of fragile consumption at home. China's property investment contraction widened in April year-on-year. Better-than-expected exports and China's domestic fuel-pricing controls have helped weather the energy shock, but higher input costs could squeeze manufacturers' margins and further hurt household spending if the conflict drags on. Top Chinese leaders have pledged to strengthen the country's energy security, accelerate technological self-sufficiency and seek greater control of supply chains in response to external shocks. <div> The Politburo also reiterated China's &#34;proactive&#34; fiscal stance and &#34;appropriately loose&#34; monetary policy, language broadly in line with previous meetings and suggesting no imminent additional stimulus plans. (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)</div> </div></div>

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China's economic growth slowed in April, with industrial output rising 4.1% and retail sales only 0.2%, both missing forecasts. Domestic car sales fell 21.6%, marking seven months of decline. Fixed-asset investment contracted 1.6% in early 2026. Economists cite weak domestic demand and external risks from the Middle East conflict as factors. Despite a 5.0% growth in Q1, analysts warn of an uneven recovery, with the property market downturn continuing to impact growth.

- China's economic growth slowed in April, with industrial output increasing by only 4.1% and retail sales rising just 0.2%, significantly below expectations.  
- Factors such as high energy costs from the Iran war, weak domestic demand, and a drop in fixed-asset investment contributed to this downturn.  
- Economists warned that while exports held up, the ongoing property market downturn and rising input costs could further pressure the economy.

China's April growth slows as factory output, retail sales miss forecasts