China August industrial output, retail sales growth beat expectations

[beijingwalker]

China August industrial output, retail sales growth beat expectations​

Reuters
September 15, 202310:12 AM GMT+8

BEIJING, Sept 15 (Reuters) - China's industrial output grew 4.5% in August from a year earlier, accelerating from the 3.7% pace seen in July, suggesting that the recent flurry of support measures may be starting to slowly stabilise a stumbling economic recovery.

The data released on Friday by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) beat expectations for a 3.9% increase in a Reuters poll of analysts, and marked the quickest rate since April.

Retail sales, a gauge of consumption, also grew at a faster 4.6% pace in August aided by the summer travel season, and was the quickest growth since May. That compared with a 2.5% increase in July, and an expected 3% increase.

Fixed asset investment expanded 3.2% in the first eight months of 2023 from the same period a year earlier, versus expectations for a 3.3% rise. It grew 3.4% in the January-July period.

The figures followed better-than-expected bank lending data, narrowing in the declines of exports and imports as well as easing deflationary pressure, indicating tentative signs of stabilisation in China's sputtering economy.

All the same, an ailing property sector, high youth unemployment, uncertainty around household consumption and rising Sino-U.S. tensions over trade, technology and geopolitics have raised the bar for a durable economic recovery in the near future.

Reporting by Albee Zhang, Ellen Zhang and Joe Cash Editing by Shri Navaratnam

China August industrial output, retail sales growth beat expectations

China's industrial output grew 4.5% in August from a year earlier, accelerating from the 3.7% pace seen in July, suggesting that the recent flurry of support measures may be starting to slowly stabilise a stumbling economic recovery.

www.reuters.com

 

[beijingwalker]

CHINA ECONOMY

China’s retail sales surprise with faster growth, up 4.6% in August​

PUBLISHED THU, SEP 14 20239:25 PM EDT

KEY POINTS

• Retail sales grew by 4.6% in August from a year ago, beating expectations for 3% growth forecast by a Reuters poll. The increase was also faster than the 2.5% year-on-year pace in July.
• The National Bureau of Statistics last month stopped reporting the unemployment rate for young people ages 16 to 24.
• Late Thursday, the People’s Bank of China said that it was cutting the amount of cash that banks need to have on hand by 25 basis points, effective Friday. It was the second reserve requirement ratio cut this year since one in March.

BEIJING — China’s retail sales and industrial production picked up pace in August with better-than-expected growth, according to National Bureau of Statistics data released Friday.
Retail sales grew by 4.6% in August from a year ago, beating expectations for 3% growth forecast by a Reuters poll. The increase was also faster than the 2.5% year-on-year pace in July.

Industrial production grew by 4.5% in August from a year ago, better than the 3.9% forecast and faster than the 3.7% increase reported for July.

Fixed asset investment, however, grew by 3.2% year-on-year in August on a year-to-date basis. That missed expectations for a 3.3% increase and was slower than the 3.4% pace reported as of July.

The figure was dragged down by a steeper drop in real estate investment, and a slowdown in infrastructure investment. Only manufacturing saw the pace of investment pick up.
Statistics bureau spokesperson Fu Linghui said the real estate market was still in a period of “adjustment” and noted declines in sales and investment.

The urban unemployment rate for cities was little changed at 5.2%. The statistics bureau again did not report the jobless rate for young people.

It said last month it will stop reporting the unemployment rate for young people ages 16 to 24. The bureau said it was reassessing its methodology, and would resume releases at an unspecified date.

China’s economic rebound from the pandemic has slowed since the second quarter, dragged down by a real estate slump. Exports, another key driver of China’s economy, have also dropped as global demand for Chinese goods wanes.

The statistics bureau release described August data as showing “marginal improvement.”

“The national economy showed good momentum of recovery with high-quality development making solid progress and positive factors accumulated,” the statistics bureau release said. “However, we should be aware that many unstable and uncertain factors in the external environment still exist.”

Within retail sales, online sales of physical goods rose by 7.6% in August from a year ago, according to CNBC calculations of official data accessed via Wind.

Autos saw sales rise by 1.1%. Among the categories with faster growth were cosmetics, up by 9.7% and communication equipment, up by 8.5% in August from a year ago. Catering sales grew by 12.4% during that time.

China’s retail sales surprise with faster growth, up 4.6% in August

China's retail sales and industrial production picked up pace in August with better-than-expected growth, according to National Bureau of Statistics data.

www.cnbc.com

 

[beijingwalker]

China stocks, yuan rise on better-than-expected economic data​

C
redit: REUTERS/ALY SONG
September 15, 2023 — 12:54 am EDT

SHANGHAI, Sept 15 (Reuters) - China stocks rose slightly on Friday after data showed parts of the economy were regaining some momentum, while the central bank's decision to cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves also helped sentiment.

The yuan climbed to its strongest in two weeks against the dollar following the data.CNY/

The blue-chip CSI 300 Index .CSI300 edged up 0.1% by the midday recess, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index .HSI climbed 1.7%.

China's industrial output and retail sales growth in August both beat expectations, suggesting a recent flurry of support measures may be starting to slowly stabilise its wobbly economic recovery.

But a slump in China's crisis-hit property sector worsened, with deepening falls in new home prices, property investment and sales, highlighting that more support will be needed.
Meanwhile, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said it would cut the reserve requirement ratio (RRR) for all banks, except those that have implemented a 5% reserve ratio, by 25 basis points (bps) from Friday.

"We think this moderate RRR cut is a further sign that the PBOC and top policymakers have become increasingly concerned about the ongoing economic downward spiral," said Ting Lu, chief China economist at Nomura.

Shares in mainland-listed healthcare .CSIHCSIand semiconductors .CSIH30184 both surged more than 2% to lead the gains.

In Hong Kong markets, tech giants .HSTECH climbed 1.5%. Energy shares .HSCIE rose 1.2%, as oil prices rose to their highest level in 10 months following China's latest measures to boost its recovery.

China has in recent months introduced a slew of policy measures to boost market sentiment, but they have failed to drive a sustained rally in the stock market.

Some analysts say the RRR cut is still not enough to revive growth and investor confidence, pointing to the mild 0.1% gain in the mainland stock benchmark .CSI300 on Friday.

"Although these easing measures are very welcome, they are definitely not enough to turn things fully around ... the real problem is the lack of effective credit demand instead of lack of credit supply," Nomura's Lu said.

Goldman Sachs expects further policy easing, including another 25 bps RRR cut and a 10 bps policy interest rate cut in the fourth quarter, as well as further property policy easing such as relaxations of home purchase restrictions and downpayment ratio cuts in large cities.

A fund manager survey by the Bank of America earlier this week showed investors believe Chinese real estate is the most likely source of a global systemic credit event and are at their most pessimistic on China growth prospects in over a year.

https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/china-stocks-yuan-rise-on-better-than-expected-economic-data-rrr-cut

 

[beijingwalker]

China's service production expands 6.8 pct in August​

2023-09-15 10:25:30

BEIJING, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- China's service production index went up 6.8 percent year on year in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed Friday.
The growth rate was 1.1 percentage points faster than the previous month, it added.

The sub-reading for accommodation and catering surged by 16.1 percent year on year.

The sub-index tracking the output of the information transmission, software and IT services climbed 11.5 percent, while that for financial services expanded 7.2 percent, according to the NBS.

In the first eight months, the index increased by 8.1 percent year on year. ■

https://english.news.cn/20230915/32f2e2914dea4f149dd7724d5beb50dd/c.html