China's retail sales last month grew at their fastest clip since the start of the year, official figures showed Friday, an encouraging sign for Beijing as it looks to boost sluggish consumption. However,

China's industrial output grew at a slower pace in October, while retail sales surprised on the upside, a mixed set of data that underlined the economy's struggles to pick up speed despite a recent blitz of policy support measures.

Retail sales grew by 4.8% year-on-year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday. That was above the 3.8% forecasted in a Reuters poll, and a pickup from 3.2% growth in September.