China’s Economy Grew 7.8% in Third Quarter, Matching Estimates

Bloomberg ( 18/10 ) -- China’s economy grew 7.8 percent in the third quarter of 2013 from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said in Beijing today.The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 48 analysts was for a 7.8 percent gain in gross domestic product after a 7.5 percent advance in the second quarter. The statistics bureau released the numbers in a statement in Beijing today before a news conference to discuss the data.The economy expanded 2.2 percent in the July-September period from the previous three months, the bureau said, compared with the median forecast for a 2.1 percent advance in a Bloomberg survey of 14 analysts.Industrial production rose 10.2 percent in September from a year earlier, the report showed. That compared with the 10.2 percent median forecast of 48 economists and a 10.4 percent gain in August.Fixed-asset investment excluding rural households increased 20.2 percent in the January-to-September period from a year earlier, the report showed. That compared with the 20.3 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey and a 20.3 percent increase in the first eight months of 2013.Retail sales in September rose 13.3 percent from a year earlier after a 13.4 percent increase in August. The median forecast was for an increase of 13.5 percent.In the first nine months of the year, GDP grew 7.7 percent from a year earlier, the report showed. That compared with the 7.7 percent median projection in a Bloomberg survey of 11 analysts.