2010-07-15 11:27

China's GDP grew 11.1 percent year-on-year in the first half of this year to 17.28 trillion yuan ($2.55 trillion). Consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, increased by 2.6 percent in the first half of this year from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Thursday.

Unlike many of its Asian peers, most recently Thailand on Wednesday, China has not raised interest rates this year.

But year-on-year growth in the stock of outstanding yuan loans slowed to 18.2 percent at the end of June from 33.8 percent as recently as November. Growth in the M2 measure of money supply moderated to 18.5 percent from 29.7 percent over the same period.

Related readings:  Slowdown ahead, but no hard landing  China Premier: economic environment 'complicated'  China GDP up 11.1% in 1st half of 2010  China's CPI rises 2.6% in H1

Consumer price inflation fell to 2.9 percent in the year to June from 3.1 percent in May, below forecasts of a 3.3 percent rise. Consumption was resilient, even though annual retail sales growth eased to 18.3 percent in June from 18.7 percent in May.

Export growth has also remained robust, but the tightening measures for the housing market are now having an impact on infrastructure and real-estate spending.

Year-to-date investment in fixed-assets such as flats and factories slowed, growing 25.5 percent against a year ago period after a 25.9 percent rise in May.

A Reuters poll of economists released on Wednesday pointed to full-year growth of 10 percent in 2010, slowing to 9.0 percent in 2011.