(RTTNews) - China’s resurgence from the financial crisis gathered pace in the third quarter, a slew of economic data released by the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday. Chinese gross domestic product expanded at a robust pace in the third quarter, while industrial production, retail sales and urban investment in fixed assets all improved. Moreover, consumer and producer prices climbed on a sequential basis during September.

The gross domestic product or GDP rose 8.9% in the third quarter, faster than the 7.9% increase in the previous quarter and the 6.1% growth in the first quarter. It came roughly in line with forecasts for a 9% increase.

In the first nine months of the year, the GDP was up 7.7% from the corresponding period of the previous year and totaled CNY 21.78 trillion. During the period, the GDP of primary industries rose 4% from a year ago, while that of secondary and tertiary industries grew 7.5% and 8.8%, respectively.

Consumer prices continued to rise on a monthly basis in September, albeit at a slightly slower pace. The consumer price index climbed 0.4% in September, after the 0.5% rise in the prior month.

In the January to September period, consumer prices fell 1.1% from the previous year. During the period, five of the eight commodity groups that make up the index dropped. Housing prices recorded the largest decline, falling 4.4%, followed by transportation & communication prices, down 2.6% and clothing prices, down 2.3%. On the other hand, prices of tobacco, liquor & articles witnessed the biggest rise, rising 1.6%.

Producer prices also increased on a sequential basis, rising 0.6% in September. In the first nine months of the year, producer prices slid 6.5% from a year ago.

Industrial production surged in the third quarter, with output rising 12.4% annually compared to the 9.1% increase in the previous quarter and the 5.1% growth in the first quarter. During the January to September period, industrial output climbed 8.7% from the year ago period.

Justin Smirk, Senior Economist at Westpac, said, “Administration policies to stimulate domestic demand have worked to such an extent that there is now a steady trend rise in industrial output.”

Further, the profits made by industrial enterprises during the first eight months of the year decreased 10.6% on a yearly basis and stood at CNY 1.67 trillion. Among the 39 industry groups, 36 groups reported reduced profits for the period.

Retail sales grew 15.1% in the January to September period from a year ago and were worth CNY 8.97 trillion. By sectors, sales in wholesale & retail businesses were up 15% and that in the lodging & catering industry increased 17.4%. Excepting telecommunication services, all other categories in the wholesale & retail business sector registered increasing sales. Of these, furniture sales and automobile sales were up 32.3% and 24.5%, respectively.

The Bureau also announced that the urban fixed asset investment for the period of January to September increased 33.3% year-on-year and amounted to CNY 13.32 trillion. This was largely because of a substantial increase in infrastructure investments. Investment in infrastructure (excluding electricity) rose 52.6% from last year. Of this, investment in railway transportation, road transportation, and health, social security & social welfare surged 87.5%, 50.7% and 72.9%, respectively.

“Investment growth did moderate in the crisis but it never completely stalled in seasonally adjusted terms,” Smirk said. “It is now setting a very solid pace of growth.”

The rapid recovery of the Chinese economy offers hope for a similar recovery around the world. “We expect strong GDP growth to reinforce economic optimism and support risk appetites,” Tim Condon, ING’s Chief Asian Economist said in a note ahead of the release of the data.

The Chinese yuan gained strongly against the U.S. dollar following the release of the economic reports.

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