China Chart Pack Private sector on sidelines of investment rebound The last two months have brought strong evidence that China’s economy is picking up speed. But this is a lopsided recovery. Small firms are still struggling, according to the official manufacturing... 20th November 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Renminbi picks up speed ahead of US elections The renminbi has risen 2% against the dollar since the end of July, erasing all of its losses in the year to date. There appear to be two factors at work. One is a renewed appetite for the renminbi... 30th October 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Stimulus hopes fizzle out Talk of a new stimulus package in China produced a 4% rally in the Shanghai Composite in the space of two days earlier this month. The turnaround was triggered by the government’s announcement that it... 17th September 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Property market rebound tests policymakers Market sentiment about China’s property policy has executed an abrupt U-turn. Early this year, speculation was mounting that the government would loosen its controls on the sector in response to the... 21st August 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Labour market health belies talk of hard landing China’s economy is growing at one of the slowest rates in years but the labour market is showing few signs of strain. Migrant wages were up 13% y/y last quarter. There are still more jobs being... 19th July 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Stimulus to support investment rebound There were signs in May’s data that economic growth was stabilising. In particular, industrial output growth reversed a small part of the April slump. This was most likely the result of a pick-up in... 14th June 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack April disappointment The data for April were appalling. Economic activity was much weaker than expected across a wide swath of the economy, with imports, industrial output and fiscal revenue hit particularly hard... 16th May 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Glimmers of hope in March It was not hard to find evidence of economic weakness in China in Q1. Imports, retail spending, property sales and, of course, GDP growth all slowed. But there were glimmers of a turnaround towards... 26th April 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Still waiting for stimulus to be felt The data for the first two months of the year were in general downbeat. Everything from imports to electricity and cement production slowed. Still, Q1 was always likely to be weak. Policy loosening... 21st March 2012 · 1 min read
China Chart Pack Policy loosening proceeds at a crawl Nearly three months after the People’s Bank signalled a shift in stance and first cut the required reserve ratio, policy remains tight. Admittedly, benchmark interest rates never climbed back to the... 21st February 2012 · 1 min read
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
