Consensus Consensus Range Actual Previous
Month over Month 0.40% 0.05%
Year over Year 4.3% 4.3% to 4.7% 4.5% 4.1%

Highlights

Chinese industrial production rose 4.5 percent on the year in May, picking up from growth of 4.1 percent in April and above the consensus forecast of 4.3 percent. In month-over-month terms, output rose 0.40 percent after a previous increase of 0.05 percent.

In their statement accompanying today's data, officials characterised the data as showing the economy has"maintained steady momentum". Although officials did not explicitly refer to the Iran conflict, they cautioned that the external environment is"increasingly complex and volatile" and again referred to an imbalance between strong supply and weak demand.

Last month officials pledged to"implement a more proactive fiscal policy and an appropriately accommodative monetary policy", but there was very little indication of officials' views about the policy outlook in today's statement. The statement merely noted that officials had strictly implemented more proactive and effective macro policies over May but provided no guidance on whether any shift in policy settings is being considered.

Market Consensus Before Announcement

The consensus looks for output up 4.3 percent on year in May after rising 4.1 percent in April, still unimpressive. In month-over-month terms, output rose 0.40 percent after a previous increase of 0.05 percent.

Definition

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.

Description

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.

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