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March 16, 2012

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Home » Business » Economy

Shanghai's GDP turning away from downturn

SHANGHAI saw a notable easing in the rise in inflation in February as well as a stable industrial output and fixed-asset investment, indicating the city's gross domestic product was heading away from a downturn, according to data released yesterday.

Shanghai targets an 8 percent expansion in its economy this year, higher than the nation's 7.5 percent.

The Consumer Price Index, the main gauge of inflation, grew 3.9 percent from a year earlier last month, down from 4.9 percent in January and was the slowest since September 2010, the Shanghai Statistics Bureau said.

Food costs, a major driver of inflation in this round, rose 7.8 percent annually in February but weakened from 11.5 percent rise a month earlier.

"The city finally put prices under control," said Wang Zehua, an analyst at the bureau. "It can allow the government to focus on sustaining economic growth and improving economic structure."

Shanghai's inflation rate was higher than the nation's average of 3.2 percent in February, which hit a 20-month low.

A pleasant surprise was that Shanghai's industrial production staged a strong comeback last month. The output of manufacturing surged 13.4 percent in February, up sharply from the fall of 9.3 percent in January, the bureau said.

The city's six key manufacturing industries - information technology, automobile, refinery, fine steel, machinery equipment and biomedicine - raied their output 12 percent annaully last month.

"Although there were seasonal factors, the strong rebound in industrial output in February indicated the city's economic performance was back on track," Wang said.

Meanwhile, fixed-asset investment totaled 57 billion yuan (US$9 billion) in the first two months, the same as that in 2011. Investment in property still grew 9.5 percent annually despite curbs on both sales and housing prices.




 

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