Industrial production in China jumped 3.5 percent year-on-year in October, rising from 3.1 percent in the previous month, the country’s official statistics agency said. Output growth was highest for communication, and the industry group of electricity and heat production and supply industries, as they increased by 14 percent and 10.7 percent respectively. On the other hand, production of textiles and non-metal minerals dropped. Industrial production also grew by an annual rate of 10.9 percent in the first 10 months of the year. Meanwhile, annual retail sales rose by 4.9 percent in October, up from the previous month’s 4.4 percent, according to data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics. China’s unemployment steady The urban jobless rate in China remained unchanged from the prior month, standing at 4.9 percent in October, official data showed. This is the lowest level since December 2018. The unemployment rate among the population aged 16-24 decreased slightly to 14.2 percent from 14.6 percent in September. Japan"s growth Japan"s economy shrank 0.8 percent quarter-on-quarter in the third quarter of this year, after a 0.4 percent growth in the previous quarter, official data revealed. This was driven by a rise in Covid-19 cases and the current shortfalls in the global supply chain. Household consumption, private non-residential investment and public investments all declined, falling by 1.2, 3.8 and 1.5 percent respectively. Exports decreased by 2.1 percent, going down for the first time in five quarters. Imports also fell, slipping by 2.7 percent. On the other hand, government consumption grew by a quarterly rate of 1.1 percent. On an annual basis, GDP shrank by 3 percent in the third quarter after expanding by 1.5 percent in the previous quarter. Indonesia’s balance of trade Trade surplus in Indonesia reached a record of $5.74 billion in October up from $3.58 billion in the same month of the previous year, Statistics Indonesia said. This is the 18th consecutive month of the trade surplus, as exports rose higher than imports, due to higher commodity prices. Exports leaped by a yearly rate of 53.4 percent to reach an all-time high of $22 billion, supported by growth in non-oil products and oil and gas commodities, which increased by 52.8 percent and 66.8 percent respectively. Imports grew at a slightly lower 51.1 percent to stand at $16.3 billion. Purchases of non-oil-and-gas rose by 48.3 percent while those of oil and gas soared by 75.9 percent.