2 Minute Read by Reuters Staff (Reuters) – BEIJING, July 15 – Official data released on Thursday revealed that China’s economy grew more slowly than predicted in the second quarter, as rising raw material costs hampered industry activity and new COVID-19 outbreaks slowed consumer spending. The April-June quarter’s gross domestic product (GDP) increased 7.9% year on year, compared to an 8.1 percent increase predicted by experts in a Reuters survey. The year-on-year growth rate was strongly skewed by the COVID-induced slump in the first quarter of 2020, therefore growth decreased dramatically from a record 18.3 percent rise in January-March. While the world’s second-largest economy has made a good recovery from the COVID-19 crisis, subsequent data releases have indicated a loss of momentum. Investors are monitoring to see if the central bank is softening its position after it revealed last week that banks will be required to maintain less cash as reserves. GDP increased 1.3 percent on a quarterly basis in April-June, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, exceeding estimates of a 1.2 percent increase in a Reuters survey. The economy expanded by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, compared to the fourth quarter of the previous year. (Kevin Yao and Gabriel Crossley contributed reporting; Roxanne Liu contributed further reporting; Ana Nicolaci da Costa edited the piece.)/n
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