China Reports Growth in Industrial Output, Retail Sales, Service Production in July

China's industrial output sustained stable growth in July with booming new growth drivers and strong exports. The country's value-added industrial output, an important economic indicator, expanded 5.1 percent year on year in July, data from China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Thursday. On a monthly basis, the industrial output edged up 0.35 percent in July from the previous month, according to (Xinhua) news agency. The industrial output measures the activity of enterprises each with an annual main business turnover of at least 20 million yuan (about 2.8 million US dollars). The NBS also said that China's retail sales of consumer goods went up 2.7 percent year on year to nearly 3.78 trillion yuan (about 528.82 billion US dollars) in July. The growth rate was 0.7 percentage points higher than that posted in June. During the first seven months, retail sales rose 3.5 percent year on year to over 27.37 trillion yuan. China's service sector also registered faster recovery last month as warming domestic demand drove up activity in industries from transportation to culture and sports, official data showed Thursday. The service production index went up 4.8 percent year on year in July, quickening by 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics said. Source: Qatar News Agency