China GDP Growth Slows To 7.4% in Q3

China’s growth slowed again last quarter, to its lowest level since early 2009, the government announced Thursday morning.

China's economy grew 7.4 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, marking a slowdown from a 7.6 percent growth rate in the previous quarter, CNN Money reports.

The 7.4 figure was in line with analyst expectations.

China's economy has grown at an average of around 10 percent a year for the past three decades.

On the plus side, industrial output for September rose 9.2 percent year-on-year, accelerating from 8.9 percent in August, while retail sales gained 14.2 percent, up from August’s 13.2 percent, MarketWatch reported.

Asian markets held onto their gains after the news. Japan’s Nikkei Stock Average rose 1.3 percent, and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 index gained 1 percent, while South Korea’s Kospi advanced a smaller 0.4 percent.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index was up 0.6 percent, and the Shanghai Composite Index added 0.3 percent, falling from its highs before the Chinese data came out.