China's factory output growth fell to a 15-month low in November while retail sales posted their weakest performance since the end of zero-Covid restrictions, reported Reuters.

Industrial output rose 4.8 per cent year on year, National Bureau of Statistics data showed. That was the slowest pace since August 2024 and down from 4.9 per cent in October.

Retail sales increased 1.3 per cent, the weakest since December 2022 when pandemic curbs were lifted. The figure was well below October's 2.9 per cent rise and forecasts for a 2.8 per cent gain.

Prices of second-hand homes fell for the seventh straight month, with the decline the fastest in more than a year. The figures underscored mounting pressure on consumption and housing.

November also saw a large trade surplus, raising concern in Beijing about the impact on trading partners. China's leadership has announced steps to restrain steel exports, a long-standing source of friction with foreign governments.