China's July economic data shows slower growth across key sectors

China's economy showed signs of a sluggish start to the second half of 2026, with official data released on Monday revealing that retail sales, industrial output, and fixed-asset investment all grew at a slower pace in July, missing market forecasts and highlighting persistent pressure on domestic demand. The figures underscore the challenges facing policymakers as they work to meet the government's annual growth target of 4.5 to 5.0 percent.

Data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed retail sales grew just 0.6 percent in July compared to a year earlier, well below the 1.5 percent forecast in a Bloomberg survey and down from a 1.0 percent increase in June. Industrial production growth also slowed to 4.5 percent year-on-year in July, down from 5.3 percent the previous month and short of the 5.0 percent forecast. Fixed-asset investment for the first seven months of the year fell 6.7 percent on year, a deeper contraction than the 5.7 percent decline recorded in the first half.

The NBS attributed part of the slowdown to severe weather, noting that international geopolitical conflicts and instability in the global energy market also contributed. "In July, international...