China has two quarters of increased GDP growth for the first time in seven years

China's economy had higher growth for a second-straight quarter as investment picked up, retail sales rebounded and factory output strengthened amid robust credit growth and further strength in property markets.

Gross domestic product increased 6.9 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, compared with a 6.8 percent median estimate in a Bloomberg survey. It was the first back-to-back acceleration in seven years.

China, which produces half the world's steel, churned out a record quantity in March as production of crude steel expanded 1.8 percent from a year earlier.

Coal production rebounded in March after the government said it doesn't intend to reintroduce widespread restrictions this year as long as prices remain acceptable to regulators.