More green shoots from China, with industrial production and strong rises in retail sales in May.
With American production negative, China is the world’s only major economy where the output is positive and growing with some reliability.
China’s National Bureau of Statistics says industrial output rose 8.9% in May, up from April’s 7.3% annualised rise and better than market forecasts for a 7.5% improvement. But it should be remembered that industrial production is still well under the 15% annual rate of a year ago.
Chinese retail sales rose a better than expected annual 15.2% May, following a 14.8% rise in April.
Coming on top of the rising investment figures and still solid bank lending numbers for May, the figures support the contention that China’s domestic economy is recovering, without any inflationary impact.
Live News added that as China reported recently, exports are weak, as are import levels, which tell us that that the economy is now growing in a balanced fashion.
The record 26% fall in exports in the year to May is a reminder of how different the Chinese economy is from a year ago and how delicately poised growth and demand remain.
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