China retail sales, industrial data grow faster than expected in October

BEIJING — China on Wednesday reported better-than-expected retail sales and industrial data for October, while the real estate drag worsened. Retail sales grew by 7.6% last month from a year ago, above the 7% growth forecast by a Reuters poll. Industrial production rose by 4.6% year-on-year in October, faster than the 4.4% pace predicted by the Reuters poll. Fixed asset investment for the first 10 months of the year grew by 2.9% from a year ago, missing expectations for a 3.1% increase. Investment into real estate fell by 9.3% during that time, a steeper decline than the 9.1% drop reported for the first nine months of the year. The urban unemployment rate was 5%, the National Bureau of Statistics said.…