China cuts interest rates as economic growth slows China has unexpectedly cut a key interest rate for the first time in almost two years as official figures showed its economic growth had slowed. Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4% for the last three months of 2021 from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

1. China cuts interest
rates
China cuts interest rates as economic growth slows
China has unexpectedly cut a key interest rate for the first time in almost two years
as official figures showed its economic growth had slowed.
Gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 4% for the last three months of 2021 from a
year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said.
That was better than most economists had predicted but were a lot slower than the
previous quarter.
In another sign of weakness, retail sales growth for December fell to 1.7%.
For the year as a whole, official data showed that China's economy grew by 8.1%,
which beat economists' forecasts and came in well above Beijing's annual target of
"over 6%."
However, some economists highlighted that the growth data, which was the slowest
in a year and a half, has yet to take into account the effect of the latest coronavirus
outbreaks many business listings.