| China's industrial output rises 17.4 percent in April |
BEIJING, May 16 (AP) -- China's industrial output grew 17.4 percent in April from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, keeping up pressure on the government to act to cool the economy.
April growth was slightly slower than the 17.6 percent increase for March, but it beat the average growth forecast of 16.9 percent by six economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires.
China's strong industrial output growth likely reflects strong export demand and steady growth in domestic consumption, economists said, and could lead to further investments as profits rise.
But Beijing has been concerned that cash from its bulging trade surplus is feeding too rapid credit and investment growth, which could result in excess production capacity. Chinese officials also worry a bubble might be forming in the stock market.
Beijing will use a full range of tools to control the fast money growth, Chinese Premier Wen Jiaboa said Wednesday, indicating tightening measures may be on the way to cool an economy that grew 11.1 percent in the first quarter.
For the January to April period, China's value-added industrial output rose 18 percent from a year earlier, slightly slower than the 18.3 percent growth for the first quarter.
Economists said China will likely consider April investment data to decide on further tightening measures such as again hiking the reserve ratio for banks and raising interest rates.
China's foreign direct investment for the January-April period rose 10.17 percent from a year earlier, the country's Ministry of Commerce said Wednesday.
Investment for the first four months totaled US$20.36 billion, the ministry said. Foreign investment growth for the period was slower than the 11.6 percent registered in the first quarter of 2006, pulled down by slower growth in April.
For April, foreign direct investment totaled US$4.47 billion, up 5.5 percent from a year ago, according to the ministry.
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