China's industrial production increased at a faster-than-expected pace in the first two months of the year, official data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Wednesday, cited by rttnews.

Industrial output climbed 7.2 percent in the January to February period from a year ago, faster than the 6.2 percent rise in December. That was also above the 6.6 percent increase economists had forecast.

During the first two months of 2018, retail sales surged 9.7 percent as compared to the same period of last year. In December, the rate of growth was 9.4 percent.

That was slightly slower than the expected growth of 10.0 percent.

The statistical office also revealed that fixed asset investment grew 7.9 percent annually in the January to February period. It was forecast to increase by 7.0 percent.