BEIJING (Reuters) - China's new home prices rose for the fifth straight month in May, but at a slower pace, according to official data on Thursday, as the government looks to shore up the crisis-hit property sector.

New home prices in May rose 0.1% month-on-month, slower than a 0.4% gain in March, according to Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data.

Prices rose for the first time since April 2022 in annual terms, up 0.1% from a 0.2% drop in April.

Beijing's broad-based stimulus measures to prop up the embattled property market since late last year had boosted sentiment in the wake of the abrupt end of COVID-19 curbs in December. But the sector is expected to grapple with "persistent weakness" for years, Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) analysts said this week, adding its problems would continue to drag on economic growth.