China factory output slumps but consumption offers bright spot

The United States and China this month agreed to a temporary truce in a blistering trade war between the United States and China that saw tariffs soar to eye-watering levels And the impact of the standoff was highlighted Monday as a report showed industrial production grew just 5.8 percent last month, below the 6.0 percent predicted in a survey of economists by Bloomberg. However, retail sales -- a key gauge of consumer demand -- grew 6.4 percent year-on-year in May, according to the NBS, topping the 4.9 percent forecast in the Bloomberg survey and sharply up from April's 5.1 percent increase.