BEIJING, Oct 18 (Reuters) - China's economy grew at the slowest pace in a year in the third quarter.
Data released on Monday showed gross domestic product (GDP) grew 4.9% in July-September from a earlier, the weakest pace since the third quarter of 2020 and slowing from 7.9% in the second quarter.
That marked a further deceleration from the 18.3% expansion in the first quarter, when the year-on-year growth rate was heavily flattered by the very low comparison seen during the COVID-induced slump of early 2020.
A Reuters poll of analysts had expected GDP to rise 5.2% in the third quarter.
On a quarterly basis, growth eased to 0.2% in July-September from a downwardly revised 1.2% in the second quarter, the data showed.
Analysts polled by Reuters expected the PBOC to keep banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) unchanged in the fourth quarter, before delivering another 50-basis points cut in the first quarter of 2022.
September industrial output rose 3.1% from a year earlier, missing expectations and down from August's 5.3%. Retail sales grew 4.4% in September, up from 2.5% in August.