Urban Fixed-Asset Investment Up

China 's urban fixed-asset investment rose 32.9 percent in the first seven months of this year from a year earlier to 9.59 trillion yuan ($1.4 trillion), the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Tuesday.

The growth rate was 5.6 percentage points higher than the same period of last year, but 0.7 percentage points lower than the first half of this year, which saw urban fixed-asset investment up 33.6 percent from a year earlier, China Daily reports.

Meanwhile, consumer prices fell, possibly damping fears that stimulus spending might trigger a rise in inflation that could disrupt the rebound.

The flurry of data suggested China's recovery is making progress, which could help to drive a global rebound from the worst economic downturn since the 1930s. But private sector activity is weak and economists say growth is still dependent on stimulus spending , The Associated Press reports.

However, this the sixth consecutive month that the two inflation indicators have simultaneously declined year-on-year since both indicators dropped 1.6 percent and 4.5 percent respectively in February.
The CPI in June recorded a year-on-year decrease of 1.7 percent, and the PPI in June fell 7.8 percent from a year earlier.
At the press conference, the NBS also released other major economic figures involving the country's fixed-asset investment and consumption.
The country's urban fixed-asset investment in the first seven months rose 32.9 percent from a year earlier to 9.59 trillion yuan (1.4 trillion US dollars). Of the figure, investment in real estate reached 1.77 trillion yuan (258.4 billion US dollars) , Economic Observer reports.