China's economy brakes sharply in Q2, global risks darken outlook

Gross domestic product in the April-June quarter grew a tepid 0.4% from a year earlier

China's economic growth slowed sharply in the second quarter, highlighting the colossal toll on activity from widespread COVID lockdowns and pointing to persistent pressure over coming months from a darkening global outlook, Qazet.az reports.

Friday's frail data adds to fears of a global recession as policymakers jack up interest rates to curb soaring inflation, heaping more hardship on consumers and businesses worldwide as they grapple with challenges from the Ukraine war and supply chain disruptions.

Gross domestic product in the April-June quarter grew a tepid 0.4% from a year earlier, official data showed on Friday. That was the worst showing for the world's second-biggest economy since the data series began in 1992, excluding a 6.9% contraction in the first quarter of 2020 due to the initial COVID shock.

It also missed forecast of a 1.0% gain in a Reuters poll of analysts and marked a sharp slowdown from 4.8% growth in the first quarter.