China's Industrial Output Growth Up Marginally

Posted 13 December 2006 @ 09:09 am EET     Print     Reprint     E-Mail     Comments

BEIJING (AP) - Booming exports and auto manufacturing helped China's industrial output pick up slightly in November after it hit the lowest growth for the year in October, official data shows.

Industrial output, a key measure of the temperature of the world's fourth-largest economy, grew 14.9 percent in November from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said. In the first 11 months of the year, industrial production rose 16.8 percent from the same period in 2005, the bureau reported in a statement.

Industrial output has seen a general slowdown after it peaked at 19.5 percent in June, slowing to 14.7 percent in October, according to previously released figures. The slight rebound this month is most likely to have been led by soaring exports from industrial enterprises, which rose 20.6 percent to 550.6 billion yuan.

Production of automobiles increased 27.8 percent in November, the highest among all the major industrial products. The government reported on Tuesday that auto sales had soared 27.7 percent last month from a year earlier.