China Rapid Response PMIs (Oct.) The PMI surveys were unexpectedly weak across the board, with the composite measure falling to its lowest in eight years outside of COVID lockdowns. If this slowdown is confirmed by the hard data then... 31st October 2023 · 4 mins read
China Chart Pack China Chart Pack (Oct. 2023) China’s economy is regaining some momentum after stalling during the summer. A step up in policy support looks set to deliver a modest cyclical recovery but trend growth remains under pressure. 30th October 2023 · 1 min read
China Economics Update Foreign investment in China still going strong Foreign direct investment into China, as measured by the balance of payments data, has collapsed. It is tempting to pin this on global fragmentation or a loss of confidence in China’s economic... 30th October 2023 · 5 mins read
China Economics Weekly Larger deficit comes with a catch Tighter oversight of off-budget fiscal activity has resulted in the first net fall in bond issuance by local government financing vehicles and policy banks in over two decades. That’s one reason why... 27th October 2023 · 7 mins read
China Activity Monitor CAP: Policy support underpins reacceleration Our China Activity Proxy (CAP) suggests that growth slowed in Q3. But the economy was regaining momentum at the end of the quarter, led by gains in the service sector. With stimulus still flowing... 25th October 2023 · 3 mins read
China Economics Update New fiscal support needed to prevent end-year slump The additional fiscal support approved today is the intervention we had been expecting and that was needed to prevent an abrupt fiscal tightening in China in the closing weeks of the year. Fiscal... 24th October 2023 · 4 mins read
China Economics Weekly GDP breakdown suggests service sector still struggling The official GDP figures show a marked acceleration in quarter-on-quarter growth in Q3. But a closer look at the data suggests that this may be a statistical mirage. We think that growth slowed last... 20th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Asset Allocation Update On the relative performance of assets in China & the US We think both the recent outperformance of China’s sovereign bonds relative to those in the US and the underperformance of its equities will end – and may even reverse somewhat – in the near future... 20th October 2023 · 5 mins read
Emerging Markets Economics Update EM exports treading water Aggregate EM goods exports have struggled for momentum in recent months and, while there were more positive signs from some of the timely September trade data, we think that exports are likely to... 18th October 2023 · 3 mins read
Capital Daily China’s economic momentum may help its struggling equities We think China’s improving economy may help stop the fall in the country’s stock markets, and see them outperform those of the US for a bit. 18th October 2023 · 4 mins read
China Rapid Response GDP (Q3) & Activity (Sep.) According to official GDP, growth more than doubled in q/q terms between Q2 and Q3, reaching a healthy 5.3% annualised rate. Our China Activity Proxy suggests that momentum isn’t quite this strong... 18th October 2023 · 5 mins read
Industrial Metals Update Cobalt prices to drift lower through 2024 Cobalt is likely to keep its position as a leading battery metal for years to come, but its high cost compared to alternative metals means that cobalt demand won’t grow as fast as overall battery... 13th October 2023 · 4 mins read
Commodities Update China's commodity demand remains rock solid China imported fewer key commodities in September than in August, but its underlying demand for commodities, especially fossil fuels, remains strong and is only likely to strengthen from here. 13th October 2023 · 2 mins read
Event China Drop-In: Q3 data dump and the economic and policy outlook 1697616000 Economists from our China and financial markets teams held an online briefing about the Q3 economic data release and outlook for the Chinese economy and markets.
China Economics Weekly China’s AI chip challenge The US government appears to be about to tighten the controls that it brought in a year ago on China's access to cutting-edge chips. One consequence will be that Chinese firms will find it harder to... 13th October 2023 · 7 mins read