April industrial output growth speeds up

Growth of China's industrial output picked up in April after hitting a six-year low in March, pointing to tentative signs of improvement for the world's second largest economy amid downward pressure.

The industrial output grew 5.9 percent year on year in April, up from 5.6-percent growth in March, the lowest monthly level since December of 2008, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced on Wednesday.

The figure was released by the NBS with other major economic indicators for April and the first four months.

Manufacturing output rose 6.5 percent, while the mining industry saw output grow 2.8 percent. Growth for electricity, heating, gas and water was 2.0 percent.

In the first four months, industrial output grew 6.2 percent year on year, compared to 6.4-percent growth in the January-March period.

Industrial output, officially called industrial value added, is used to measure the activity of designated large enterprises with annual turnover of at least 20 million yuan ($3.27 million).