China's industrial output and retail sales rose more than expected in November, while growth in business investment was flat, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
Industrial production grew 6.2% year over year in November, following a 4.7% rise in October. The consensus estimate of economists polled by Econoday was for a 5.0% annual print in November.
In the first 11 months of the year, industrial output rose 5.6%, unchanged from the growth rate in the January-October period.
Retail sales growth accelerated to 8.0% last month from 7.2% in October, outpacing the Econoday consensus of 7.6%. Retail sales were up 8.0% in the 11 months to November.
Fixed asset investment, excluding rural households, rose 5.2% year over year in the 11 months to November, the same rate of increase as that in the January-October period. That growth rate matched the Econoday consensus.
The uptick in the indicators may be short-lived, with downward pressure on growth "likely to resurface before long," wrote Martin Lynge Rasmussen, China economist at Capital Economics.
The U.S. and China agreed to the text of a phase-one deal, as part of which scheduled U.S. and Chinese tariffs on each other's goods will be suspended.
The phase-one deal could boost export activity and corporate investment in the near term, but real estate is primed for "a moderation as financing to the sector is being squeezed by a regulatory crackdown," Rasmussen said.