- China said Monday that second-quarter gross domestic product grew by 6.3% from a year ago, missing expectations. In June, the unemployment rate among Chinese youth, aged 16 to 24, reached a new record high of 21.3 percent.
- The 6.3% GDP print for the second quarter marked a 0.8% pace of growth from the first quarter, slower than the 2.2% quarter-on-quarter pace recorded in the first three months of the year. Analysts polled by Reuters had predicted a 7.3% increase in the second quarter GDP.
Why it matters
Figures from the National Statistics Office indicate that retail sales, the primary gauge of household consumption, experienced a further slowdown. Although the sales index showed an annual increase of 3.1%, its growth rate was significantly lower compared to May's rate of 12.7%.
