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China’s GDP slows to 9.6 pct in third quarter

China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 9.6 percent in the third quarter, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on October 21.
China’s gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 9.6 percent in thethird quarter, reported the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) onOctober 21.

The growth rate was slightly higherthan the forecasted level of 9.5 percent but lower than the figures of11.9 percent in the first quarter and 10.3 percent in the secondquarter.

China’s GDP may have slowed down, butremains fairly high, quelling concerns that the country’s economy is indecline.

In September, the consumer price index(CPI) rose 3.6 percent year-on- year, up 0.6 percent from the previousmonth, while industrial output dropped to 13.3 percent in September from13.9 percent in August.

During the first ninemonths of 2010, China’s retail revenues, a primary gauge of people’sspending habits, surged by 18.3 percent compared with the same periodlast year.

The statistics were released just a fewdays after China’s central bank decided to raise its prime interestrate for the first time in three years to combat rising inflation andgrowing asset bubbles./.
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