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2nd LD-Writethru: China's industrial output up 6.1 pct in August

Xinhua, September 13, 2015 Adjust font size:

China's value-added industrial output expanded 6.1 percent year on year in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sunday.

The growth rate was up slightly from 6 percent in July.

NBS statistician Jiang Yuan attributed the month-on-month increase to improving performance in key industrial sectors and accelerated growth in high-tech industries. In August, high-tech manufacturing grew by 10.5 percent year on year and the growth rate was up 0.9 percentage points from July.

Despite the growth, industrial output still faces remarkable downward pressure due to flagging demand, Jiang said.

Year-on-year growth in the first eight months stood at 6.3 percent, the same level as the first seven months.

China uses value-added industrial output to measure the final value of industrial production, or the value of gross industrial output minus intermediate input, such as raw materials and labor costs.

The NBS data only tracks the output of large Chinese companies with annual primary business revenues of more than 20 million yuan (3.16 million U.S. dollars).

The figures also showed that industrial output in China's central regions rose by 8.2 percent in August year on year, trailed by 7.7 percent in western areas and and 6.2 percent in eastern regions. Industrial output in northeastern China dropped 0.4 percent.

Manufacturing output rose 6.8 percent, mining output added 4 percent, while output of the electricity, heating, gas and water sectors increased 1.9 percent, the bureau said.

China's fixed-asset investment, a major driver of growth, witnessed slightly slower growth, but with improved industrial structure.

Retail sales in August saw a higher growth rate than July.

Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC, said the industrial output data and fixed-asset investment fell below general market expectations.

China will continue its loose monetary policies while improving performance in infrastructure and property will help boost the economy, he said. Endi