Industrial output grew by only 5.4 percent year-on-year in November, the lowest rate in 10 years, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday. The figure was 11.9 percentage points down from a year earlier.

Key sectors such as auto production and power generation registered negative growth as the global credit squeeze, declining orders and stagnant investment began to hurt Chinese enterprises.

The industrial sector, which accounts for half of the nation's economy, grew 16 percent in June but declined to 8.2 percent in October.