The output of China's largest industrial companies slowed to its slowest pace in about two years in October, though the growth by most standards remains remarkable.
China's National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday the counntry's industrial output increased by 14.7 percent last month, down 1.4 percentage points from September.
The slowdown should be welcome news to Chinese officials, who are attempting to cool off the red-hot economy before inflation and over-capacity put an end to the astonishing run the economy has enjoyed.
Industrial output has now slowed for four straight months following the 19.5 growth hit in June. China's steel output was 41.59 million tons, up 23.4 percent. The country produced 187 million tons of raw coal in October, up 14.6 percent from the same month last year, and 15.5 million tons of crude oil, up 0.6 percent.