NBS: China industrial production up 9.3% in April

Industrial output in China rose 9.3 percent in April, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said Monday, accelerating from March output.

The April figure was an improvement on an increase of 8.9% in March but was still slower than a median forecast of 9.5% growth in a poll of nine economists by Dow Jones Newswires.

Fixed-asset investment -- a key measure of government spending -- rose 20.6 percent in the first four months of the year, the NBS said.

Retail sales were up 12.8 percent year-on-year in April, picking up marginally from 12.6 percent in March, it said in a statement.