China posts first GDP decline on record as coronavirus cripples economy

On a quarter-on-quarter basis, GDP fell 9.8% in the first three months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said, just off expectations for a 9.9% contraction, and compared with 1.5% growth in the previous quarter.

Separate data showed China's industrial output falling by a less-than-expected 1.1% in March from a year earlier. Retail sales fell 15.8% in the same period. Fixed asset investment shrank 16.1% in January-March.

China's urban jobless rate was at 5.9% in March, down from 6.2% in February.

The pandemic has infected more than 2 million globally and killed more than 130,000. China, where the virus first emerged, has reported more than 3,000 deaths although new infections have dropped significantly from their peak.

Read Also: Indian retail inflation drops as coronavirus hits domestic demand

Analysts expect nearly 30 million job losses this year due to stuttering work resumptions and plunging global demand, outpacing the 20-plus million layoffs during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Beijing has pledged to take more steps to combat the impact of the pandemic, as mounting job losses threaten social stability.

The central bank has already loosened monetary policy to help free up the flow of credit to the economy, but its easing so far has been more measured than during the global financial crisis.

The government will also lean on fiscal stimulus to spur infrastructure investment and consumption, which could push the 2020 budget deficit to a record high.

For 2020, China's economic growth is set to stumble to its slowest annual pace in nearly half a century, a Reuters poll showed this week