CHINA reported weaker-than-expected activity data for May, adding to views the economy is finally starting to slow under the weight of a prolonged crackdown on riskier lending.

Industrial output, investment and retail sales all grew less than expected, data showed Thursday, offsetting upbeat trade data.

China’s fixed-asset investment growth cooled to 6.1 percent in the January-May period from a year earlier, the slowest pace since February 1996.

Retail sales in May expanded at the slowest pace since June 2003, according to calculations.

May industrial output rose 6.8 percent from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said, compared with a rise of 7 percent in April.

April data had also been mixed, suggesting a softening in demand.

Analysts polled had expected investment growth to remain steady at 7 percent in the first five months of the year, the same pace seen in the January-April period.

Private sector fixed-asset investment rose 8.1 percent in the January-May period, compared with an increase of 8.4 percent in the first four months, according to official data.

Private investment accounts for about 60 percent of overall investment in China.

Growth in infrastructure spending, a powerful economic driver last year, slowed to 9.4 percent in the first five months, compared with a rise of 12.4 percent in the January-April period. (SD-Agencies)