China’s economic data out over the weekend paints a mixed start to the year. Retail sales rose less than expected in the first two months of 2016, while industrial output recorded the weakest growth in more than seven years—coming in at 5.4 percent.
Investments in fixed assets jumped 10 percent. That was its first rise in almost two years as infrastructure approvals begin to take effect. The real estate sector also saw a 3-percent increase in investment on the back of a warm-up in home sales.