A customer buys decorations for the Year of the Tiger at a market in East China.
Retail sales in China missed expectations in November, while industrial production beat expectations, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics.
Retail sales for November grew by 3.9% from a year ago, below the 4.6% year-on-year rise forecast by a poll.
Despite China's big Singles Day online shopping festival in early November, the miss came as auto sales have fallen in recent months.
Bruce Pang, head of macro and strategy research at China Renaissance, said in a note that online sales of physical goods rose by a slower 13.2% in November compared to October's 14.6%.
He expects Beijing to increase its support for growth in the coming months.
It is not known if policy supports can help the economy.
Industrial production grew by 3.8% in November, which was better than the 3.6% expected.
The fixed asset investment for the year through November grew at a slower rate than the poll predicted.
In a note, the chief economist of Pinpoint Asset Management said that the economy remained weak in November. He said that China's "zero-tolerance" policy to control Covid-19 was one of the reasons for the further weakness in domestic consumption.
The zero tolerance policy will likely stay the same, and the property outlook is still unclear, but fiscal policy is about to turn supportive.
Beijing is trying to curb developers' reliance on debt as it faces pressure from a slowdown in the property market. Moody's says that real estate and related industries make up 25% of China's gross domestic product.
Tourist and business activity have been limited by intermittent travel restrictions that control pockets of Covid cases.
Consumer spending is influenced by income expectations. Pang noted that the official purchasing managers' index suggests that the job market is still under pressure in manufacturing and services.
The unemployment rate in the city went up to 5% in November from 4.9% in October. The unemployment rate for people from 16 to 24 years old was high.
China's exports rose 22% in November from a year ago.
Chinese authorities have taken more reserved actions amid rising inflation and tighter monetary policy in other countries.
The reserve requirement ratio for most banks was cut by the People's Bank of China.
The amount of cash banks need to have on reserve was reduced for the second time this year. The central bank said that the cut to the weighted average of 8.4% freed up 1.2 trillion yuan.
This is a breaking news story. You can check back for updates.
The article has been changed to remove an inaccurate reference to the historical pace of growth in China's retail sales.
