China's Economy Slows: Retail Sales Grow 0.6% in July

In July, China's economy showed signs of slowing, with retail sales growing only 0.6% year-over-year, falling short of the 1.5% estimate from a Reuters poll. Urban fixed-asset investment contracted 6.7%, worse than anticipated, while the unemployment rate increased to 5.2% from 5% in June. Industrial output rose 4.5%, below the 4.8% expected growth. These figures highlight ongoing concerns about China's economic health and may lead to increased policy support from the Chinese government in the second half of the year.