China Economic Data June 2026: GDP, Industrial Output, Retail Sales, CPI and PMI

Production improved. The NBS June release reported 5.3% growth in value added of industrial enterprises above designated size, 0.8 percentage points faster than May. ChinaData.live PMI data also moved back above 50, with manufacturing PMI at 50.3 and composite PMI at 50.6 in June. For product-level output series, use the monthly crude steel, cement, new energy vehicle, and integrated circuit datasets.

The month-on-month output reading was also positive at 0.76%, and non-manufacturing PMI stood at 50.2. These are not boom numbers, but they describe an economy expanding rather than stalling — and one still carried by supply-side capacity and new industrial sectors rather than by demand.

Consumption was positive but not strong. Retail sales grew 1.0% in June and 1.3% in the first half. Online goods and services retail sales grew 5.2% in the first half, and online goods retail 4.8%, which means the better part of consumption was still more visible in digital channels than in broad offline retail. At 1.0%, retail growth was nowhere near enough to offset weak investment.

Investment remained the main drag. Fixed asset investment fell 5.7% in Jan-Jun and private investment 8.5%, while real estate development investment fell 18.0%, with new commercial housing sales area down 11.6% and sales value down 13.6%. The investment data keeps the macro picture uneven: factories and services are expanding, but construction and property-linked demand are still contracting, which sustains pressure on local government finance, household wealth effects, and credit appetite.

Some structure was better than the headline. Intellectual property product investment grew 9.4%, and infrastructure categories such as information transmission, water transport, and air transport grew quickly. Those pockets were not yet large enough to neutralise the contraction in property and broad fixed investment.

Prices stayed mild at the consumer level. CPI rose 1.0% year over year in June, while food prices fell 1.6%, led by a 15.9% drop in pork prices; non-food prices rose 1.5%, services 0.8%, and core CPI 1.0%. PPI rose 4.1%, but the monthly PPI reading fell 0.3%, suggesting upstream price pressure was present but not accelerating month to month. That combination left room for policy support if demand softened.

Trade updated. ChinaData.live monthly trade data is now published through June 2026. June exports reached $412.4B, imports rose to $286.8B, and the goods surplus widened to $125.6B, against May exports of $376.8B and a $105.4B surplus.

Bottom line. June 2026 was a better month for production than for domestic demand. Manufacturing, PMI, and new growth sectors still carried visible momentum, while consumption was only gently positive and investment stayed weak. The next month answered part of that: see the July 2026 snapshot, where output slowed and PMI fell back below 50.