China Data Response China Consumer & Producer Prices (Apr.) Producer price inflation was the strongest since October 2017 last month, as upstream price pressures remained significant due to supply constraints. This is feeding through to a rebound in consumer... 11th May 2021 · 2 mins read
Commodities Update China’s commodity imports are on the way down China’s commodity imports fell back in April compared with a month earlier. This chimes with our view that imports of industrial commodities into China will come off the boil as economic growth there... 7th May 2021 · 2 mins read
China Data Response China Trade (Apr.) Headline trade growth picked up last month thanks to favourable base effects. But in seasonally-adjusted terms, exports continued to level off and the rebound in imports stalled. This partly reflects... 7th May 2021 · 3 mins read
China Economics Weekly Tourism recovering, Phase One deal remains a dud Domestic tourists made a record number of trips over the recent Labour Day holiday. But in a sign that consumers are still holding back, daily tourism spending was still a fifth below pre-pandemic... 7th May 2021 · 6 mins read
China Data Response Hong Kong GDP (Q1 Preliminary) Hong Kong’s y/y GDP growth turned positive in Q1 for the first time since Q2 2019. Even after accounting for base effects, the economy expanded impressively thanks to the strength of exports. With the... 3rd May 2021 · 3 mins read
China Chart Pack Jump in input costs weighing on industry The Q1 industrial profits data published this week were very strong. Net profits continued rise rapidly and are now 50% higher than they were two years ago. Only a third of this is due to higher sales... 30th April 2021 · 12 mins read
China Economics Weekly Population pressures, supply constraints biting There is mounting evidence that supply constraints are feeding price pressures across manufacturing in China. Producer price inflation is about to jump to multi-year highs. Meanwhile, the statistics... 30th April 2021 · 6 mins read
China Data Response China PMIs (Apr.) The latest surveys suggest that growth edged down this month. Supply-side disruptions appear mostly to blame for a slower rise in manufacturing output. But there are also signs of a demand-led... 30th April 2021 · 3 mins read
Emerging Markets Economic Outlook New virus waves to drag on the recovery The surge in virus cases across large parts of the emerging world and the slow pace of vaccine rollout mean that the headwinds facing the EM recovery are building. EM currencies are likely to see... 28th April 2021 · 25 mins read
China Economic Outlook Rebound levelling off After treading water in Q1, activity should pick up again this quarter following the relaxation of domestic travel restrictions. But growth will be more modest than most expect over the next couple of... 28th April 2021 · 2 mins read
China Economics Update China’s population may have peaked China’s census has revealed the first population decline since the People’s Republic was founded, according to the FT. If this is confirmed and the beginning of a trend, China’s challenge in... 27th April 2021 · 3 mins read
China Activity Monitor A stronger end to a weaker quarter Our China Activity Proxy (CAP) suggests that growth picked up last month as virus containment efforts were lifted. But this wasn’t enough to prevent a marked slowdown in q/q growth last quarter. With... 26th April 2021 · 3 mins read
China Economics Weekly New growth forecasts, service sector divergence We’ve nudged down our China growth forecast for 2021 in response to incoming data suggesting that momentum slowed more than we’d expected in the early part of this year. Our expectations for the rest... 23rd April 2021 · 6 mins read
China Economics Update LPR unchanged as PBOC relies on other policy tools Commercial banks left the Loan Prime Rate (LPR) on hold today. Given that official efforts to rein in credit are being achieved by other means, we do not expect any changes to policy rates in the... 20th April 2021 · 2 mins read
China Data Response China GDP (Q1), Activity & Spending (Mar.) China’s GDP growth jumped to a record high in y/y terms last quarter. But this was entirely due to a weaker base for comparison from last year’s historic downturn. In q/q terms, growth dropped back... 16th April 2021 · 3 mins read
China Economics Weekly Investors reassess state support Investors had previously shrugged off governance problems at Huarong, China’s largest distressed debt manager. The assumption had always been that the firm’s ties to the Ministry of Finance would... 16th April 2021 · 5 mins read
