Increase in Chinese industrial output lowest since 2002

Chinese industrial production in January and February increased 5.4 percent since the same period last year, but was 0.5 percent less than that recorded last December and the lowest since February 2002, official data revealed on Saturday.

According to the data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics, industrial output in China is obtained by measuring the activity of designated large enterprises which have an annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($3.08 million), Efe news reported.

Other market indicators, such as retail sales, also slumped from an inter-annual 11.1-percent growth in December to 10.2 percent in January and February, hovering among the lowest rates in the last decade.

According to the bureau, total retail sales of consumer goods amounted to 5.29 trillion yuan ($825 billion) in the first two months of 2016.

Fixed-asset investment amounted to 3.8 trillion yuan ($585.5 billion) during the same period, registering a 10.2 percent year-on-year growth.