A little more than a week ago, China released its data for second quarter GDP growth alongside other important data sets that, entwined, give us a glimpse into the health of the world’s second largest economy and a framework for FX strategy in the Asian space.
China’s second quarter GDP growth hit 6.7% for the second quarter year-on-year, the same growth rate as the first quarter and moderately higher than the 6.6% called for in Reuters’ consensus poll. The major contributor to GDP growth was consumption, a rather positive sign that consumers are becoming a more prominent engine in the Chinese economy. This was further enforced when China’s retail sales posted growth of 10.6% in June compared to 10.0% in May.
But on the flip side, there were some negative signs as well, and plenty of them. GDP growth was, indeed, driven by consumption but the growth in the services sector, or the tertiary industry as it is referred to, was 7.6% Year on Year. That is simply not enough to accommodate China’s weakness in manufacturing and not exactly in line with China’s growth plans. Continue reading "China Recap: The Good And The Bad"
