China Industrial Output Growth Stabilizes In May

China's industrial production and retail sales increased at a steady pace in May, while property investment growth softened signaling a slowdown in overall activity in the second quarter.

The annual growth in industrial production held steady at 6.5 percent, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday. Output was forecast to expand 6.4 percent.

Retail sales grew 10.7 percent year-on-year in May, the same pace of growth as seen in April and in line with economists' expectations.

During January to May, fixed asset investment increased 8.6 percent from the same period of the previous year, which was slower than the 8.8 percent growth economists had forecast and the 8.9 percent rise logged during the January to April period.

Likewise, property investment grew at a slower pace of 8.8 percent in the five months to May following a 9.3 percent increase in the January to April period.

The rating agency Moody's downgraded China's rating by one notch in May, citing concerns over the rising debt and slowing growth and reforms as the government tries to implement a shift to economic expansion driven by domestic demand than exports.

The economy had expanded 6.9 percent in the first quarter, the fastest since the third quarter of 2015. The government targets slightly slower growth of about 6.5 percent this year.