China's economy grew less than expected in July, official says

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China's economy grew less than expected in July, official says

BEIJING, Oct 18 Reuters - China's economy grew slower than expected in the third quarter, official data showed on Monday, as power outages and supply bottlenecks hurt factories while sporadic COVID - 19 outbreaks weighed on consumption.

Gross domestic product GDP expanded 4.9% in the July-September quarter from a year earlier, National Bureau of Statistics said. It had been slowering from 7.9% in April-June and compared with expectations for a rise of 5.2% in a Reuters poll of economists.

That was the weakest reading since last year's third quarter, when GDP also grew 4.9% and marked a further deceleration in response to a record growth of 18.3% in the first quarter.

On a quarterly basis, GDP expansion in the July-September period, worsening expectations for 0.5% increase in the Reuters poll and decreasing from 1.3% in the second quarter.

The world's second largest economy has lost steam after the pandemic but the recovery is impressive. Problems including slowering factory activity, persistently soft consumption and a faltering property sector have fanned speculation that policymakers may announce more stimulus measures in coming months.