New Energy
China’s Surprise Economic Rebound in May Propelled by Coal
- Economists point out inconsistencies in official data
- Construction still contracting once inflation included
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Official Chinese economic statistics for May told a story of a lockdown-wounded economy improving on the back of stronger industrial output and investment - but a deeper look suggests an economy still contracting.
Headline industrial output in May grew an unexpected 0.7% from a year earlier, but output of electricity was down 3.3% and power consumption was down 1.3% for the same period, according to government data released Wednesday. While gross domestic product data for this quarter won’t be released until July, that gap and other high-frequency data points to an economy that was still shrinking.