China's economy continued its rebound into the second half of 2020, but the pace of growth was slower than analysts expected, data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed. Retail sales were well below consensus last month, shrinking by 1.1 per cent from a year earlier, even as analysts had expected the first monthly gain of 2020 for this vital gauge of consumer spending in the world's biggest market. Retail sales had dipped by 1.8 per cent in June and 2.8 per cent in May. July's figure was behind expectations of 0.1 per cent growth, as per the consensus forecast of a Bloomberg poll of analysts. ... (full story)