FX.co ★ China Industrial Output Growth Below Forecasts

China’s industrial production rose 4.5% year-on-year in July 2026, down from 5.3% in June—its fastest pace in three months—and below market expectations of 5.0%. The slowdown reflected weak domestic demand and disruptions from extreme weather.

The deceleration was driven by softer growth in manufacturing (5.5% vs 6.0% in June) and in utilities, including electricity, heat, gas, and water (5.0% vs 7.4%), while mining output contracted more sharply, falling 4.2% after a 2.2% decline in June.

Within manufacturing, 25 of the 41 major industries registered output growth. Strong gains were seen in computers and communications equipment (19.1%), railway and shipbuilding (13.6%), general equipment (9.5%), special equipment (12.6%), electrical machinery (5.3%), agriculture and food processing (3.8%), oil and gas (6.1%), textiles (2.3%), and automotive (8.7%).

In contrast, output declined in several key sectors, including chemicals (-1.2%), coal mining and washing (-10.8%), and non-metallic mineral products (-3.3%).

Over the first seven months of 2026, industrial output increased by 5.3% overall. On a month-on-month basis, industrial production rose 0.11% in July.