China economy slows down in third quarter

China says its economy has continued to grow in the third quarter of this year, but at a slightly lower rate.

Official figures show a drop from just over 10% growth to 9.6%.

This leaves China still far ahead of any major economy, but experts fear the slowdown will reduce the contribution China can make to a global recovery.

The Chinese government has recently taken measures to cool a credit boom in order to achieve more sustainable growth levels.

But the slowdown will lower China’s demand for oil, iron ore, factory machinery and other imports.

Official data also showed that consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly two years in September.

Prices rose 3.6% year on year, the fastest increase since October 2008, with prices for food – the item poorer Chinese spend most of their income on – rising by more than 6%.

The BBC’s Chris Hogg in Beijing says the government surprised the markets by raising interest rates earlier in the week for the first time since 2007, a move that should temper inflationary pressures.

He adds that its experts say this year’s harvest is not bad, so that should also help ease pressure on food prices.
Source: BBC