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9 Feb 2015
China's trade: Fears of weak momentum to stay - Westpac
FXStreet (Bali) - Jonathan Cavenagh, FX Strategist at Westpac, notes that China's data will do nothing to dispel fears of a fairly weak start to the year in terms of Chinese economic momentum.
Key Quotes
"China’s record trade surplus in Jan (just above USD60bn) is about the only positive outcome from the data released over the weekend. Headline export growth fell by 3.3%yoy versus a +5.9% expected rise, while import growth slumped to -19.9%yoy versus an expected contraction of -3.2%. Part of the fall reflects the sharp drop in commodity prices."
"However, underlying volume growth also slowed. This followed signs of recovery in December, particularly across some of the key commodity segments. This data will do nothing to dispel fears of a fairly weak start to the year in terms of Chinese economic momentum."
Key Quotes
"China’s record trade surplus in Jan (just above USD60bn) is about the only positive outcome from the data released over the weekend. Headline export growth fell by 3.3%yoy versus a +5.9% expected rise, while import growth slumped to -19.9%yoy versus an expected contraction of -3.2%. Part of the fall reflects the sharp drop in commodity prices."
"However, underlying volume growth also slowed. This followed signs of recovery in December, particularly across some of the key commodity segments. This data will do nothing to dispel fears of a fairly weak start to the year in terms of Chinese economic momentum."