China’s economy is being hit from all sides — a property slump, energy crisis, weak consumer sentiment and soaring raw material costs — and government data Monday will show just how bad things are looking.
Economists surveyed by Bloomberg predict a slowdown in gross domestic product growth to 5% in the third quarter from 7.9% in the previous three months, and a weakening in monthly industrial production and investment figures in September. Retail sales may show a pickup after a major virus outbreak was contained.
The outlook for the world’s second-largest economy has darkened in recent months following a worsening in the property market and a shock electricity shortage that forced factories to curb output or shut down completely. Economists have been steadily downgrading their growth forecasts for the year — some, like Nomura Holdings Ltd., predict it could drop to as low as 7.7% — with ripple effects for the rest of the world.