BEIJING, July 15 (Reuters) – China’s economic growth slowed sharply to 4.3% in the second quarter from a year earlier, official data showed on Wednesday, missing analysts’ expectations as weak domestic demand and the oil shock tied to the Iran war outweighed stronger production and exports.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast the April-June quarter gross domestic product (GDP) would expand 4.5% from a year earlier, cooling from a 5.0% gain in the first quarter.
The second-quarter year-on-year growth marked the slowest pace since the fourth quarter of 2022 when China was grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic.
On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 0.9% in the second quarter, in line with analysts’ forecast and compared with the 1.3% gain in the previous quarter.
Policymakers are struggling to address a widening gap between supply and demand, with AI-led export strength lifting industrial output while household spending and private investment remain subdued.
(Reporting by Kevin Yao and Ellen ZhangEditing by Shri Navaratnam)
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