China Oct industrial output expands 4.9% y/y, retail sales up 2.9%

BEIJING, Nov 14 (Reuters) - China's industrial output in October grew 4.9% year-on-year, slowing from the 6.5% increase recorded a month prior, while retail sales growth slowed, official data showed on Friday.

The industrial output data, released by the National Bureau of Statistics, missed a 5.5% gain forecast in a Reuters poll.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, rose 2.9% in October after expanding 3.0% in September, beating forecasts for a 2.8% gain.

Fixed asset investment shrank 1.7% in January-October compared with the same period last year, after a 0.5% contraction in January-September. Economists expected a 0.8%drop.