China's industrial output up 16.0 percent in May: govt

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2008

BEIJING, June 16, 2008 (AFP) — China's industrial output showed signs of slowing down in May, suggesting the Asian giant is hurting from weakening demand from abroad, the government and experts said Monday.

Factory production in the world's fourth largest economy increased 16.0 percent last month from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in a statement.

The figure was rather modest by Chinese standards, even though May had three more working days in 2008 than in 2007 following a reform of the holiday schedule, analysts said.

"This shows industrial production was relatively weak," Xing Zhiqiang, an economist with China International Capital Corporation, told AFP.

Industrial output had risen by 15.7 percent in April, but in May last...