Newly released economic data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics indicates Fixed Asset Investment (FAI) in infrastructure and manufacturing increasing by 2.3% and 14.2% YoY respectively, the lowest YoY growth rates so far in 2021.

Industrial output, however, increased by 3.5% YoY, rising by 0.4 points versus September’s figure, which was the lowest YoY growth rate so far in 2021.

The construction sector showed floor space under construction in October at 7.1% YoY growth, also the lowest YoY expansion in this segment in 2021. Chinese house prices increased by 3.4% YoY, the lowest yearly housing price increases since January 2016, as the construction and housing sectors continue to struggle with liquidity. Despite this, the People’s Bank of China today kept the country’s 1-year Prime Loan Rate unchanged at 3.85%.

One bright spot was in the automobile sector in October despite facing a severe shortage of semiconductors, a key input for a vehicle’s electronics. Automobile production totaled 2.3m units in October, rising by 12.2% MoM and the highest monthly total since March. Further, Chinese auto exports amounted to 220k units in October, the highest total in the last 10 years.