China Chart Pack Policymakers in no hurry to loosen Policy loosening in China has got off to a slow start. The People’s Bank chose not to cut the required reserve ratio (RRR) ahead of the Chinese New Year holiday, confounding widespread expectations... 26th January 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Weak start to 2012 After a run of bad data, many are now looking at prospects for 2012 with a sense of foreboding. GDP growth in Q4 may have dropped below 7% q/q in annualised terms. Monetary conditions have loosened a... 21st December 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Policy starts to turn Policymakers started talking in late October of the need for “fine-tuning”. There is now mounting evidence that policy has begun to shift direction. The People’s Bank lowered the yield on one-year... 21st November 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Smaller firms feel tightening squeeze China’s attempts to rein in off-balance-sheet lending by banks have compounded the difficulties faced by smaller firms that were already cut off from formal credit channels. Net new bank lending last... 25th October 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Global weakness to drag on growth While pessimism has been growing about the world economy, the last month’s data from China have actually not been that bad. But China’s economy is weaker today than on the eve of the global crisis... 23rd September 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Renminbi spurt revives talk of currency reform The renminbi has retreated after gaining 0.6% against the dollar in two days earlier in August, damping hopes that faster movement would be sustained in the months to come. But the unusually-abrupt... 24th August 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Still-rising pork prices add to near-term inflation risks Pork prices continued to rise in the first half of July. But the pace at which they are rising has slowed. Pig numbers are picking up – helped in part by high prices – and the government is releasing... 21st July 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Equity markets may be turning the corner After falling for two months, Chinese equities have clawed back some of their losses in the last few days. We think that the recovery in equity prices has much further to go. 29th June 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Power shortages unlikely to undermine growth Power shortages are adding to investor concerns about the outlook for China’s growth. The main problem is that the government has not allowed regulated electricity prices to increase in line with the... 17th May 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack China’s dollar dilemma unresolved S&P’s decision to put a negative outlook on the US’s AAA credit rating will have been greeted with wry smiles in Beijing. Officials there have long been of the view that US policymakers cannot be... 21st April 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Households on the back foot The recent data suggest that China’s households are increasingly reluctant to spend. Real retail sales growth slumped to a five-year low in the first two months of 2011. Other measures of household... 22nd March 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Revamped data show property prices still rising slowly Much of the initial reaction to China’s new property price statistics has focused on the fact that property prices are “still rising”. But the median increase in new residential prices among the... 21st February 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Banks squeezed by reserve ratio hikes Interbank rates have spiked to multi-year highs ahead of Chinese New Year. This partly reflects seasonal factors, but also that successive required reserve ratio (RRR) hikes are squeezing banks’... 26th January 2011 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Markets rethink policy outlook Markets have scaled back their expectations for policy tightening in China as senior officials have made clear that they see no need for a major policy shift. The government’s stance is based in part... 21st December 2010 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Inflation returns to top of policy agenda (Nov 10) Inflation has risen faster than anticipated over the last few months and is now the primary concern of both policymakers and markets. A tight credit quota seems likely for 2011 – perhaps RMB6.5trn... 18th November 2010 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Renminbi gains likely to fade (Oct 10) The renminbi has risen more than 2% against the dollar since the beginning of September. The US Treasury’s decision to defer publication of its currency report and the upcoming G20 summit will... 27th October 2010 · 1 min read
