China's output beats estimates as export slide slows

China’s industrial production grew more than economists estimated in November, exports fell the least in 13 months and imports surged, confirming the nation’s role as leader of the world recovery.

Factory output climbed 19.2 per cent from a year earlier, the statistics bureau said in Beijing. That was more than the 18.2 per cent median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey of 25 economists. Exports slid 1.2 per cent. Imports rose 26.7 per cent.

New loans topped forecasts and money supply expanded by a record, extending a credit boom that may fuel asset bubbles and inflation and has prompted plans by lenders including Bank of China Ltd to replenish capital. The government this week adjusted its stimulus policies to curb property speculation, while extending subsidies for rural purchases of consumer goods and pledging a “moderately loose” monetary policy in 2010.

“Industrial output, money supply growth and fixed-asset investment are not only restored to pre-crisis levels but are approaching overheating territory,” said Isaac Meng, a senior economist at BNP Paribas SA in Beijing.