China39;s industrial production, consumption indicators show improvement
Property investment tumbles, private investment shrinks
Real estate sector remains major drag on economic revival
Analysts expect more policy support to sustain growth momentum

BEIJING, Sept 15 Reuters China39;s factory output and retail sales grew at a faster pace in August, but tumbling investment in the crisishit property sector threatens to undercut a flurry of support steps that are showing signs of stabilising parts of the wobbly economy.

Chinese policymakers are facing a daunting task in trying to revive growth following a brief postCOVID bounce in the wake of persistent weakness in the crucial property industry, a faltering currency and weak global demand for its manufactured goods.

Industrial output rose 4.5 in August from a year earlier, data released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics NBS showed, accelerating from the 3.7 pace in July and beating expectations for a 3.9 increase in a Reuters poll of analysts. The growth marked the quickest pace since April.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, also increased at a faster 4.6 pace in August aided by the summer travel season, and was the quickest growth since May. That compared with a 2.5 increase in July, and an expected 3 rise.

The upbeat data suggest that a flurry of recent measures to shore up a faltering economy are starting to bear fruit.

Yet, a durable recovery is far from assured, analysts say, especially as…