The New York Federal Reserve's Empire State manufacturing index rose to 15.6 in July from 5.7 in June, compared with a smaller expected increase to a reading of 9.2 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.
The Empire State index is the first manufacturing sector reading for July and suggests more widespread expansion.
The new orders, shipments, and employment readings all increased in the month, while the prices paid reading declined but still pointed to significant growth.
China's industrial energy production was mixed in June, with raw coal and crude oil output declining year over year, while natural gas production returned to growth and electricity generation maintained steady growth, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Wednesday.Raw coal production fell 9.7% year over year to 380 million metric tons, compared with a 1.7% decline in the previous month.Crude oil output slipped 0.5% year over year to 18.12 million metric tons, while natural gas production increased 1.1% to 21.4 billion cubic meters, compared with a 2.2% decline in May.Electricity output rose 2% year over year to 827.6 billion kilowatt-hours, softer than the 4.2% increase in May.
China's retail sales of consumer goods grew 1% year over year to 4.269 trillion yuan in June, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Wednesday.The latest print rebounded from a 0.6% contraction recorded in the previous month, defying the consensus forecast for a 0.1% decline tracked by Investing.com.Sales in urban areas rose 0.8% year over year to 3.684 trillion yuan, while rural retail sales edged up 2.1% to 584.7 billion yuan.For the first six months of the year, retail sales in China rose 1.3% year over year to 24.87 trillion yuan.
Property investment in China fell 18% year over year during the first six months of the year, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Wednesday.The pace of drop was sharper than the 16.2% decline recorded in the previous five-month period.Total construction area of real estate companies declined 12.5% in the first half to 554 million square meters, while new construction starts plummeted 23.4% to 232.4 million square meters.Funds available to property developers tumbled 20.2% from a year earlier to 4.02 trillion yuan.