China's urban fixed-asset investment rose 33.1 percent in the first 10 months to 15.07 trillion yuan (US$2.21 trillion), compared with the same period a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Wednesday.

The growth rate was 5.9 percentage points higher than that in the same period of last year, but 0.2 percentage points lower than that in the first nine months, NBS spokesman Sheng Laiyun said at a press conference.

The NBS had no figure for the month of October.

Hao Daming, analyst with China Galaxy Securities, attributed the small dip to the eased growth of investment in the country's real estate sector in October.

Investment in the real estate sector nationwide posted a 28.4 percent growth year on year in October, but the growth rate was down 8.7 percentage points from September, he said.

"In spite of the slight slowdown, the growth is still fast and urban fixed-asset investment will continue to serve as a major driver of the country's economy," said Hao.

He expected the economy would expand more than 10 percent in the fourth quarter.

In the first 10 months, investment in the primary sector, covering farming, fishing and forestry, jumped 54.1 percent year on year.

The industrial sector, or the secondary sector, posted a 26.8-percent growth in investment and the tertiary industry, including commerce, finance and services, saw investment up 37.8 percent.