BSS/AFP) - Retail sales in China grew last month at their slowest pace since November, official data showed Monday, underscoring persistent challenges in the world`s second-largest economy.

The 3.0 percent year-on-year rise in September, announced by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), was in line with forecasts in a Bloomberg survey.

Industrial production rose 6.5 percent year-on-year in September, the NBS said, topping forecasts of 5.0 percent.