(Yicai Global) May 17 -- China’s key economic indicators for last month ticked steadily upward, but the pace of growth from March has slowed somewhat, a spokesperson for the National Bureau of Statistics said today.

Both production and demand increased in April, Fu Linghui said. Industrial firms of a designated size, with an annual turnover of more than CNY20 million (USD3.1 million), saw output grow 9.8 percent last month from a year earlier and 0.52 percent from March.

Of these, the equipment manufacturing industry posted a 11.2 percent annual gain and high-tech manufacturers 11.6 percent. Other emerging sectors, including new energy vehicles, industrial robots and integrated circuits, also performed well.

China's import and exports tallied CNY3.15 trillion (USD489.3 billion) in April, up 26.6 percent year on year, ringing in a trade surplus of CNY276.5 billion (USD42.9 billion). Exports jumped 22.2 percent to CNY1.71 trillion while imports gained 32.2 percent to CNY1.44 trillion.

Employment remains stable and inflation is moderate, Fu said. Around 5.1 percent of city dwellers were unemployed last month, down 0.2 point from March and 0.9 point from a year ago.

The consumer price index, a key inflation measure, rose 0.9 percent in April from a year earlier. The producer price index, an indicator of corporate profitability, soared 6.8 percent, 2.4 points faster than in March in its biggest uptick since October 2017.

In the first four months, China's fixed-asset investment advanced 19.9 percent from a year earlier to CNY14.38 trillion (USD2.23 trillion). Investment in primary industry rose 35.5 percent, high-tech industry 28.8 percent and social fields 26.3 percent. Investment in health and education also increased.

China's total retail sales of consumer goods jumped 17.7 percent in April from the same period last year and 0.32 percent from March to CNY3.2 trillion (USD497 billion). In the first four months, online retail sales leapt 27.6 percent to CNY3.76 trillion.

Editor: Kim Taylor