China GDP slows, inflation still a worry

Beijing -- China reported its third quarter gross domestic product rose 11.5 percent from last year but the rate was less than the 11.9 percent in the second quarter.

Despite the quarter-to-quarter slowdown in the robust economy and a slight easing of inflation, China’s major stock index fell about 5 percent Thursday on concerns of additional tightening measures to prevent the economy from overheating. China has raised interest rates five times this year.

China's consumer price index eased to 6.2 percent in September from the 11-month high of 6.5 percent in August, Xinhua reported quoting the National Bureau of Statistics. Despite the drop, the rate for the first nine months of the year stood at 4.1 percent.

NBS spokesman Li Xiaochao said “inflationary pressure is still there” in the economy, China Daily reported.

The third quarter GDP was driven by rapid expansion in investment, retail sales and exports, the China Daily reported.

Li said investment, helped by expansion in credit, is the largest contributor to the economy, accounting for 41.6 percent of the growth, the report said.

Chinese exports in the first nine months of this year rose 27.1 percent to $878.2 billion, against imports of $692.6 billion, producing a trade surplus of $185.7 billion, up $75.8 billion from last year’s total.

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