China Rapid Response China Policy Rates (Sep. 2024) The lack of any reduction to policy rates today, despite the clear economic case for doing so, underscores the extent to which the PBOC remains constrained by concerns about bank profitability and... 20th September 2024 · 3 mins read
China Rapid Response China Activity & Spending (Aug. 2024) Activity growth slowed last month, falling short of expectations across the board. The service sector is still faring reasonably well and the fiscal support that’s already in the pipeline should help... 16th September 2024 · 3 mins read
China Rapid Response China Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Aug.) Both broad credit and bank loan growth slowed in August, coming in below expectations. (See Chart 1.) While stronger government spending should give the economy a boost over the coming months, that... 13th September 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Merchandise Trade (Aug. 2024) Export values grew y/y at the fastest pace in 17 months, with export volumes hitting record highs. We expect exports to remain robust in the near term, supported by the decline in China’s real... 10th September 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Consumer & Producer Prices (Aug. 2024) Despite a weather-related surge in vegetable prices, a fall in energy prices and core inflation meant CPI only rose a touch. Meanwhile, producer price deflation deepened on the back of worsening... 9th September 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China PMIs (Aug. 2024) The PMIs for August suggest that economic momentum held broadly steady last month, with modest improvements in manufacturing helping to offset a further slowdown in construction activity. But with... 2nd September 2024 · 3 mins read
China Rapid Response PBOC buys bonds today but will be selling soon The PBOC has just revealed that it purchased RMB400bn of government bonds from primary dealers today. This might seem like an odd move given that the central bank has spent recent months trying to... 29th August 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Activity & Spending (Jul. 2024) After slowing in Q2, economic momentum appears to have stabilised somewhat last month, with a pick-up in consumer spending and services activity largely offsetting a slowdown in investment and... 15th August 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Bank Lending & Broad Credit (Jul.) Broad credit growth ticked up in July, while bank loan growth only slowed a touch. (See Chart 1.) We expect a continued acceleration in government bond issuance to support a further expansion of... 13th August 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Consumer & Producer Prices (Jul. 2024) Consumer price inflation ticked up in July, but this was entirely due to a weather-related rise in food price inflation. Producer price deflation was unchanged. While a ramp-up in fiscal spending... 9th August 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Merchandise Trade (Jul. 2024) Growth in export values slowed last month, but this was mainly due to lower export prices. Export volumes remained near record highs. We expect outbound shipments to stay strong for a while, not least... 7th August 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China PMIs (Jul. 2024) The PMIs for July suggest that China’s economy weakened further last month, as domestic weakness continues to weigh on the economy. But the government now seems intent on ramping up policy support... 31st July 2024 · 3 mins read
China Rapid Response China Politburo Meeting (Jul. 2024) The readout of the Politburo’s latest triannual meeting on economic affairs has just been published by state media. It was dovish in tone and adds to recent evidence that the leadership believes more... 30th July 2024 · 2 mins read
China Rapid Response China Medium-term Facility Rate (Jul. 2024) The PBOC’s decision to cut the 1-year interest rate on its medium-term lending facility (MLF) earlier today is unusual for two reasons. First, the 20bp reduction is double the size of the PBOC’s usual... 25th July 2024 · 3 mins read
China Rapid Response China Policy Rates (Jul. 2024) The PBOC has lowered its short-term policy rate for the first time since last summer, in line with our expectation for a cut this quarter. Its efforts to prevent long-term yields from falling... 22nd July 2024 · 2 mins read
