China's economy to grow by 6.8% in Q1: Report

China's economy will remain solid in the first quarter of 2017, growing 6.8% from a year earlier, Goldman Sachs forecast.

The bank in a report said purchasing managers' index (PMI) readings from both official and private surveys have implied firm activity growth overall. It expected China's GDP growth to reach 6.6% for 2017, Xinhua news agency reported.

Goldman Sachs expected China's industrial production to rise 6.4% in March, slightly higher than the 6.3% growth for January and February.

Fixed asset investment growth is likely to remain strong, expanding 8.9% in the first three months of the year, unchanged from that in the first two months, according to Goldman Sachs.

It expected weaker auto sales to continue weighing on the country`s retail sales, which may increase 9.4 % in March, slowing from the 9.5 % growth registered in the first two months.

The bank said growth of the country`s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, may rebound to 1.3 % in March from 0.8 % in February as distortions from the Chinese New Year effect disappeared.

In the fourth quarter of 2016, China`s economy grew 6.8 % year on year. The Chinese government has targeted growth of around 6.5 % this year.

The country is scheduled to release its first-quarter economic data, including GDP growth, fixed asset investment, industrial output and retail sales, on April 17.