BEIJING (REUTERS) - China's industrial output rose 10.3 per cent last month from a year earlier, beating market expectations, while retail sales were up 13.3 per cent, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday.

Fixed-asset investment, an important driver of economic activity, climbed 20.1 per cent in the first 10 months from the same period last year, the bureau said. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast industrial output to rise 10 per cent and retail sales to rise 13.4 per cent.

Fixed-asset investment for the January-October period was seen up 20.1 per cent.