Chinese industrial production drops to 17-year low in May

Chinese industrial production fell to its worst level in 17 years in May, according to figures released by the country's National Bureau of Statistics on Friday.

Industrial production growth slowed to 5% last month from 5.4% in April, missing expectations for a 5.5% increase and marking the worst level since February 2002.

Meanwhile, fixed asset investment rose 5.6% in May, down from 6.1% growth in April and slowing to its worst level in seven months. The figure mixed expectations for an unchanged reading.

Retail sales were the only bright spot, with growth of 8.6% in May compared to 7.2% the month before. This was ahead of analysts' expectations of 8.1% growth.

Spreadex analyst Connor Campbell said China was "clearly feeling the trade war pinch".

Capital Economics said: "Another disappointing batch of activity data in May reinforces our view that growth will probably weaken a bit more this quarter. With consumer and business sentiment likely to sour further as the trade war escalates, additional policy easing will be needed to shore up growth."