China’s fourth-quarter GDP grows at 5.4%, beating market expectations

China’s financial exercise accelerated greater than anticipated within the closing three months of 2024 as stimulus measures kicked in, permitting Beijing to satisfy its annual development goal.

China’s gross home product expanded by 5.4% within the fourth quarter, beating Reuters-polled economists’ estimates of a 5.0% development, and outpacing the 4.6% within the third quarter, 4.7% within the second quarter, 5.3% within the first quarter.

That last-quarter dash helped raise China’s full-year GDP development to five.0% in 2024, in accordance with China’s Nationwide Bureau of Statistics on Friday, consistent with the official goal of “round 5%.”

“The shift of coverage stance in September final yr helped the economic system to stabilize in This fall, but it surely requires giant and chronic coverage stimulus to spice up financial momentum and maintain the restoration,” Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist, Pinpoint Asset Administration, mentioned in a word.

The statistics bureau cautioned in its assertion that, “the adversarial results introduced by exterior surroundings are growing, the home calls for are inadequate.” It referred to as for implementing “extra proactive and efficient macro insurance policies.”

Mainland China’s blue-chip CSI 300 index reversed course to edge up 0.15%, following the upbeat information. Chinese language offshore yuan strengthened barely to 7.3398 per U.S. greenback, whereas the benchmark 10-year authorities bond yield dropped 2 foundation factors to 1.638, in accordance with the LSEG information.

Final yr’s development was slower in contrast with the 5.4% rise in 2023, post-pandemic. As a part of an annual revision to preliminary figures, the statistics bureau in late December revised the 2023 GDP development to 7.4%, in accordance with a CNBC calculation of the official information.

In December, retail gross sales jumped 3.7% from a yr earlier, exceeding Reuters’ forecast of three.5%. Industrial output expanded 6.2% from a yr earlier, versus expectations of 5.4%, underscoring China’s imbalance between home manufacturing and weak demand.

The full-year mounted asset funding rose 3.2% in 2024, shy of the projected 3.3% enhance in a Reuters ballot, as actual property funding drag steepened to a ten.6% drop, in contrast with the January to November interval.

The city unemployment charge ticked larger to five.1% in December from 5.0% within the prior month.

Disposable revenue for city residents grew by 4.4%, slower than the general financial development, whereas that of rural residents elevated by 6.3% in 2024.

China’s client inflation has remained barely above zero, whereas wholesale costs fell for a twenty seventh consecutive month in December, official information confirmed final week.

Friday’s information comes simply days earlier than Donald Trump is ready to be inaugurated as the following U.S. president on Jan. 20. Trump has mentioned that quickly after taking workplace, he plans to impose extra tariffs of a minimum of 10% on Chinese language items. He has additionally appointed some China hawks to key cupboard posts.

The expansion momentum, buoyed by a surge in exports, could also be sustained into the primary quarter this yr, mentioned Erica Tay, director of macro analysis at Maybank. However it’s more likely to weigh on GDP development within the second half-year, “no matter Trump’s tariffs,” on condition that international importers have amassed ample stockpiles, she added.

The information launched Friday indicated that “home development engines stay smooth as retail gross sales development responded marginally to trade-in subsidies,” Tay mentioned, pointing to sluggish client spending.

The nationwide inhabitants declined to 1.408 billion in 2024, dropping by 1.39 million from 2023, in accordance with the statistics bureau. It had declined by 2.08 million folks in 2023 from the prior yr.

The autumn in inhabitants, regardless of a rebound in beginning charges, displays a deepening demographic disaster, mentioned Tianchen Xu, senior economist at Financial Intelligence Unit, stressing that the loss of life charge in China had ticked as much as 7.76% final yr from 7.1% earlier than the pandemic.

China has been striving to spice up financial development and has taken a number of measures in direction of this finish, as an actual property hunch and uncertainty about future revenue has continued to crush client spending and enterprise confidence, including to deflation considerations.

Since late September, Chinese language authorities have referred to as for halting the actual property decline, lower rates of interest and introduced a five-year fiscal bundle price 10 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion) to ease native governments’ financing disaster. Beijing has additionally expanded a program for customers to trade-in used automobiles and residential home equipment, and purchase new ones at a reduction.

“They’re betting on a considerable infusion of coverage stimulus and reforms to turbo enhance the nation’s economic system in 2025, invigorating home demand and keeping off disinflationary loom,” mentioned Bruce Pang, distinguished senior analysis fellow on the Nationwide Establishment for Finance and Improvement.

High leaders have pledged “proactive” fiscal measures and a “reasonably unfastened” financial coverage stance for the present yr. Some analysts count on stimulus may begin to take impact this yr, however it is going to take longer to see a major impression.

The federal government is predicted to disclose the official development targets for 2025 and extra stimulus measures on the annual parliamentary conferences in March. Economists count on Beijing to maintain its GDP development goal for 2025 at round 5%, if not barely decrease.