FX.co ★ China Industrial Output, Retail Sales Growth Improve In August

China's industrial production and retail sales growth improved more than expected in August, official data revealed on Friday.

Industrial production posted an annual increase of 4.5 percent, the National Bureau of Statistics reported. Output was expected to climb moderately by 3.9 percent in August after rising 3.7 percent in July.

Likewise, growth in retail sales improved to 4.6 percent in August from 2.5 percent in the previous month. This was also better than economists' forecast of 3.0 percent.

During January to August period, fixed asset investment increased 3.2 percent from the same period last year, data showed. However, the rate was slightly weaker than the expected 3.3 percent.