China economic data show signs slowdown may be easing, as central bank acts to support growth

BEIJING (AP) — China has reported its factories picked up their pace and retail sales also gained momentum in August, suggesting the economy may be gradually recovering from its post-pandemic malaise. However, the figures reported Friday showed continuing weakness in the all-important property sector, where real estate developers are struggling to repay heavy loads of debt in a time of slack demand. Investment in real estate fell 8.8% in August from the year before. The decline has been worsening since the beginning of the year. Acting to relieve the burden on banks, the People’s Bank of China, or central bank, announced late Thursday that the reserve requirement for most lenders would be cut by 0.25 percentage points as of Friday.