The Chinese economy showed signs of slowing in April, as industrial output, retail sales and fixed-asset investment all missed expectations amid a deepening global energy crisis, the latest data shows.

China’s industrial output grew by 4.1 per cent year on year in April, down from 5.7 per cent the previous month, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday. Economists polled by financial data provider Wind had forecast growth of 5.63 per cent.

Retail sales grew by 0.2 per cent year on year in April, compared with growth of 1.7 per cent in March and a consensus forecast of 2 per cent in a poll of economists by the Yicai Research Institute.

China’s overall fixed-asset investment, covering major items such as infrastructure, manufacturing and property construction, contracted by 1.6 per cent year on year during the January-April period, compared with growth of 1.7 per cent in the first quarter of this year.

Real estate investment, a heavy drag on economic growth last year, fell by 13.7 per cent year on year in the first four months.

The surveyed urban unemployment rate stood at 5.2 per cent in April, compared with 5.4 per cent in March and 5.3 per cent in February, as the job market has been less affected by disruptions from AI and other factors than expected.