An investor walks at a securities firm in Shenyang, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, July 10, 2015 [Xinhua]
An investor walks at a securities firm in Shenyang, northeast China’s Liaoning Province, July 10, 2015 [Xinhua]

China’s economy posted a 6.9-per cent growth year on year in the third quarter of 2015, lower than 7 per cent in the first half of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Monday.

In the first three quarters of the year, GDP hit 48.78 trillion yuan ($7.68 trillion), up 6.9 per cent year on year, according to the NBS.

This is the first time the quarterly growth rate had dropped under 7 per cent since the second quarter of 2009.

NBS spokesperson Sheng Laiyun said that global factors had impacted China’s growth.

“Expectation of a U.S. interest rate hike prompted volatility in commodity prices, stocks and foreign currency markets. Many countries devaluated their currencies, putting more pressure on Chinese exports, one of the three pillars of China’s economic growth,” said Sheng at a press conference.

China’s exports growth dropped 7.9 per cent year on year in the first three quarters to 17.87 trillion yuan, according to the NBS.

During the first nine months, industrial output grew 6.2 per cent year on year and fixed-asset investment climbed 10.3 per cent. Property investment grew 2.6 per cent year on year, while retail sales of consumer goods rose 10.5 per cent.