China's annual growth eased to 7.7 percent in the fourth quarter as investment and demand flagged late in the year, and analysts say it could cool further in 2014 as Beijing focuses on rebalancing the economy and other major reforms.
That leaves growth in the Chinese economy at 7.7 percent for all of 2013, unchanged from revised levels in 2012.
The fourth-quarter growth rate compared with 7.6 percent forecast by analysts in a Reuters poll but eased from 7.8 percent in the previous three months.
On a quarterly basis, gross domestic product (GDP) rose 1.8 percent from July-September, slower than expectations for 2.0 percent and a reading of 2.2 percent in April-June.
"The economy may be a little more robust than people thought coming into 2014. I had thought the monetary tightening in 2013 would pose a downside risk in 2013. The numbers reduce that downside risk," said Tim Condon at ING in Singapore.
"I don't see any evidence of an (economic) rebalancing last year. It doesn't look like there's any reduction in the current account surplus and the savings and investment gap probably didn't change."
Still, analysts say activity could cool further this year if China's efforts to increase domestic consumption at the expense of exports and investment gather pace.
Other key risks include policymakers' success in executing reforms and Beijing's prolonged battles to clamp down on risky lending, soaring home prices and a mountain of local government debt.
The Australian dollar firmed slightly after the data while most Asian stock markets pared early losses.
Source: Reuters
Source: Reuters
