According to the Sedaye Sama News Agency, According to the Financial Times, investment in China recorded the sharpest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic during the past month, while housing prices also fell more than expected, highlighting the pressure on policymakers to maintain momentum in the world’s second-largest economy.

Data released on Friday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed that fixed-asset investment fell by 1.7% in the year to October compared with the same period a year earlier, marking the weakest figure since June 2020.

This decline was worse than the forecasted 0.8% drop and lower than the 0.5% decrease recorded in September.

Meanwhile, prices of newly built homes in China fell by 0.45% in October from the previous month—the biggest decline since October last year and steeper than the 0.4% fall recorded in September.

Liu Song, chief China economist at ING, said that key indicators of economic activity in China have continued to decline across all sectors.

He added that despite this trend, China is still expected to meet the government’s growth target of around 5% for this year, but emphasized that achieving long-term objectives will require the implementation of supportive policies.

According to the report, the country’s industrial production grew by 4.9% compared with a year earlier—below Reuters’ forecast of 5.5% and lower than the 6.5% growth recorded in September.

Retail sales in October increased by 2.9%, slightly above Reuters’ forecast of 2.8%, but below September’s 3% growth. Both indicators were the weakest since August 2024.

Fu Linghui, spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics, stated that despite relatively stable economic activity and progress in developing new industries, numerous external uncertainties persist.