China Blames Lunar New Year for Underwhelming Economic Data

China’s most important festival is the main culprit behind the underwhelming economic indicators at the start of this year, according to the statistics authority.

The Lunar New Year -- around which many factories and companies shut down -- usually hurts industrial output in the four days ahead of it and 15 to 20 days after it, according to Mao Shengyong, spokesman of the National Bureau of Statistics. The festival was on Feb. 5 this year and thus the effect was concentrated in February, he said.