Chinese economic activity picks-up in August

Economic activity in Asia´s largest economy perked up in August as the effects of past stimulus kicked-in.

Given that further easing monetary policy in China was not likely in the near-term, that meant it would probably 'fizzle out' going into next year, according to some economists.

However, in their words the 'upshot' from the data was that worries that those stimulus measures had failer to deliver were "premature".

Production from the country´s industrial sector grew by 6.3% year-on-year (consensus: 6.2%), while retail sales accelerated from a 10.2% year-on-year pace to 10.6% (consenus: 10.2%).

"The upshot is that today’s data fits with our long-running view that the delayed impact of earlier policy easing means that a stronger second half to this year is likely," Julian Evans-Pritchard, China economist at Capital Economics said in a research note sent to clients.

Fixed asset investment was also stronger, with the pace of expansion unchanged from last month in year-to-date terms, at 8.1%, but quickening from a 4.0% year-on-year clip in July to 8.1% year-on-year in August, according to Evans-Pritchard´s calculations.

Electricty production also increased at a faster pace, rising from an annual rate of 7.2% to 7.8%, although unusually hot weahther likely played a hand.