中国宏观数据点评：8月实体经济数据继续走弱，期待政策支持

Economic Performance - In August, China's retail sales growth declined to 3.4%, down from 3.7% in July and below the expected 3.8%[2] - Fixed asset investment growth fell significantly by 1.1 percentage points to 0.5%, much lower than the expected 1.5%[3] - Industrial production growth decreased to 5.2%, down 0.5 percentage points from July and below the market expectation of 5.6%[5] Sector-Specific Insights - Real estate development investment fell by 0.9 percentage points to -12.9%, again weaker than the expected -12.5%[3] - Retail sales of home appliances dropped sharply to 14.3% in August from 28.7% in July, indicating a significant slowdown in consumer spending[2] - The automotive retail sales growth increased to 0.8%, up 2.3 percentage points, benefiting from a low base last year[2] Policy Expectations - Incremental policy support is anticipated to be introduced by the end of September, particularly in fiscal policy to improve infrastructure investment[1][8] - A potential 50 basis points reserve requirement ratio cut and a 10-20 basis points interest rate cut are still expected this year, although the timing may be delayed due to recent market movements[12] - The introduction of new policy financial tools and early allocation of local government debt quotas are expected to support infrastructure investment[10] External Trade Dynamics - Export growth fell by 2.8 percentage points to 4.4%, weaker than market expectations, with exports to the US continuing to decline[7] - Exports to ASEAN countries increased significantly by 5.9 percentage points to 22.5%, partially offsetting the decline in US exports[7] Labor Market Conditions - The urban unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 5.3%, exceeding the expected 5.2%[5]