China's economy slows in March

Data issued by the National Bureau of Statistics showed that China's gross domestic product rose by 1.3% in the first quarter of this year, and on an annual basis, GDP grew by 4.8% compared to the same period last year. Retail sales fell 3.5% in March, the largest year-on-year decline since April 2020 due to restrictions on the spread of Covid 19 across the country, and the unemployment rate rose to 5.8% in March, the highest level since May 2020. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it will reduce the amount of liquidity that banks must hold as reserves for the first time this year while freeing up about 530 billion yuan ($83.25 billion) of long-term liquidity, and the bank confirmed that it will strengthen its support for industries, companies and people affected by the virus. Corona is in its latest moves to avoid the impact of the economic slowdown.