BEIJING, Oct 19 (Reuters) – China’s economic growth rebounded to 4.5% year-on-year in the third quarter, beating expectations and easing the pressure on policymakers to deliver more aggressive stimulus measures to meet the annual target.
Analysts polled by Reuters had forecast 4.4% growth in gross domestic product (GDP) from the same period last year, an improvement from the more-than-three-year low of 4.3% in the April-to-June period.
Aiming for 4.5%-5% growth for the whole year, China’s top leaders had vowed to introduce effective new policies to support the economy as muted domestic demand and investment weighed on a broader recovery despite solid goods export performance.
Authorities recently expanded support for home buyers and unveiled measures to steer cheaper credit into sectors including infrastructure and technology. They have refrained from releasing large-scale stimulus.
On a quarterly basis, GDP grew 1.2% in the third quarter, surpassing expectations for a 1.1% rise and compared with a 0.9% expansion in the previous quarter.
($1 = 6.6909 Chinese yuan)
(Reporting by Kevin Yao, Ellen Zhang and Yukun Zhang;Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
