China October investment growth quickens; retail sales, factory output disappoint

BEIJING (Reuters) - China's fixed-asset investment rose 8.3 percent in January-October from the same period a year earlier, slightly higher than market expectations, but industrial output and retail sales growth were weaker than forecast.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected an increase of 8.2 percent in investment, the same pace as in the first nine months of the year.

While fears of a hard landing for China have eased this year, recent data have highlighted growing imbalances in the world's second-largest economy, with growth increasingly dependent on government spending and ballooning debt as private investment hovers around record lows.

Fixed-asset investment by state firms rose 20.5 percent in January-October, though it eased from 21.1 percent in the first nine months, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

Growth of private investment quickened to 2.9 percent from 2.5 percent in January-September, which picked up from a record low of 2.1 percent in the first eight months.

Private investment accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in China.

Chinese policymakers have been trying to lure private investors into big infrastructure projects through public-private partnerships, but many lucrative sectors are still dominated by state firms.

Industrial output rose 6.1 percent in October from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday, below analysts' estimates for a rise of 6.2 percent, following a 6.1 percent rise in September.

China's producer prices jumped more than expected in October as prices of coal and other raw materials surged in the midst of a supply crunch and a pickup in the economy.

Stronger factory prices have helped boost industrial profits, relieving some pressure on companies squeezed by higher costs and weak demand, though there are concerns some of the gains are due to speculation and are not sustainable.

Factory activity increased at the fastest pace in over two years in October, China's official purchasing manager survey recently showed.

Retail sales rose 10.0 percent in October on-year, missing analysts' forecasts of 10.7 percent - the same as the prior month.

Alibaba Group Holding Ltd Singles' Day festival posted a record 120.7 billion yuan ($17.73 billion) worth of sales on Friday, though the gala shopping day saw growth slow as Chinese shoppers searched for deeper discounts and lower price tags.

Last week, trade data showed China's exports and imports fell more than expected in October, with weak domestic and global demand adding to doubts about how long the pick-up in broader economic activity can be sustained.

(Reporting by Elias Glenn and Beijing Monitoring Desk, Writing by Kevin Yao; Editing by Kim Coghill)