China's Weekend Data Signal Weakening Demand at Home and Abroad
(Bloomberg) -- Economic data for China released over the weekend signal a further weakening of both domestic and international demand in November.
Factory inflation and the consumer price index slowed, while import growth slumped. Export growth also moderated, though the front-loading effect produced by tariffs still caused the surplus to the U.S. to hit a record.
- The producer price index climbed 2.7 percent in November from a year earlier, the slowest pace in more than two years. The consumer price index rose 2.2 percent, slower than estimated, according to data released Sunday.
- Exports in dollar terms rose 5.4 percent in November, the customs administration said Saturday, missing estimates. Imports grew 3 percent, widening China’s trade surplus to $44.7 billion from $34.8 billion. That was the highest this year.
Key Insights
| What Our Economists Say... |
| Leading indicators suggest price pressures will continue to moderate going forward. The input and output price components in both the official and Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index data declined in November. The weakness in China’s exports explains part of the sharp slowdown in imports, but weaker domestic demand was also at play -- underlining a struggling economy. -- Chang Shu and Justin Jimenez, Bloomberg Economics. Read the full notes here and here |
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- Core inflation, excluding food and energy prices, remained stable at 1.8 percent
- The fall in global oil prices was the main driver of the slowdown in PPI inflation, according to Bloomberg Economics
- The trade surplus with the U.S. was almost $35.6 billion, driven by a 9.8 percent rise in exports compared with the same period last year and a 25 percent decline in imports.
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