Chinese industrial production rose 2.4 percent on the year for January and February combined, picking up from growth of 1.3 percent in December but falling short of the consensus forecast of 2.6 percent. This follows a significant relaxation of public health restrictions by Chinese authorities late 2022. Separate year-over-year data for January and February are not published because of the impact of differences in the timing of lunar new year holidays from year to year. In month-over-month terms, industrial production rose 0.12 percent in February.

Within the industrial sector, manufacturing output rose 2.1 percent on the year, broadly in line with official PMI survey data that showed modest expansion in the sector at the start of the year. Utilities output and mining output rose 2.4 percent and 4.7 percent respectively on the year in the first two months of the year.

Year-over-year growth in industrial production is expected to accelerate to 2.6 percent in the combined months of January and February versus growth of 1.3 percent in December.

Industrial production measures the change in the total inflation adjusted value of output produced by manufacturers, mines and utilities. Data are compared with the same month a year earlier.

Chinese data can have a broad impact on the currency markets due to China's dominant influence on the global economy and investor sentiment. It's a leading indicator of economic health. Production is the dominant driver of the economy and reacts quickly to ups and downs in the business cycle. No data are published in February for January.

The industrial growth rate is used to reflect a certain period of increase or decrease in volume of industrial production indicators. The indicator can be used to estimate the short term trend of the industrial economy, to judge the extent of the economic boom and also to be an important reference and basis for the formulation and adjustment of economic policies.