China's April industrial output and retail sales growth undershot forecasts, suggesting the economy lost further momentum at the start of the second quarter.

The nation's industrial output grew 5.6 percent in April from a year earlier, accelerating from the 3.9 percent pace seen in March, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Tuesday. It was well below expectations for a 10.9 percent increase in a Reuters poll of analysts although it marked the quickest growth since September 2022.

Retail sales jumped 18.4 percent, speeding up sharply from a 10.6 percent increase in March for their fastest increase since March 2021. However, analysts had expected retail sales to grow 21.0 percent.

The year-on-year figures were heavily skewed by declines last April when the financial hub of Shanghai and other major cities were under stringent anti-virus lockdowns and curbs, which impacted growth in the world's second-largest economy in 2022.

Other data over the past week showing shrinking imports in April, deepening factory gate deflation and worse-than-expected bank loans, has raised pressure on policymakers to shore up the economic recovery as global growth falters.

China's central bank kept the interest rate unchanged on Monday as expected, but markets are betting on more monetary easing in the coming months.

On top of fragile domestic and global demand conditions, Chinese policymakers have to contend with headwinds from recent Western bank failures, high global borrowing costs and the Ukraine war.

The property sector remained fragile, with investment in the industry down 6.2 percent in January-April after declining 5.8 percent in the first three months.

Hiring was still low among companies wary about their finances. The nationwide survey-based jobless rate stayed at 5.2 percent in April, down slightly from 5.3 percent in March. But the youth jobless rate hit a record high at 20.4 percent, up from 19.6 percent in March. (Reuters)