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China’s Economy Grinds Down a Gear as Heavy Industry Drags

  • Industrial output, retail and investment all miss estimates
  • Data dashes hopes that China’s economy has turned a corner
Photographer: VCG/via Getty Images
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China’s economy resumed its grind toward slower growth in April, weighed down by overcapacity industries such as steel and coal.

Industrial production climbed 6 percent in April from a year earlier, down from 6.8 percent in March and missing economists’ estimates for 6.5 percent. Retail sales also missed analyst forecasts, rising 10.1 percent, while fixed-asset investment increased 10.5 percent in the January-April period versus economists’ expectation for 11 percent.