Major Macro Economic Statistics

 Fiscal revenue: +34%

Data and Graphic 

China's inflation eases to 6.2% in Aug

China's inflation eased in August from a 37-month high as the country's economy cooled and global uncertainties lingered.

The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, slowed to 6.2 percent in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sept 9.

[Full story]

PPI rises 7.3% year-on-year

The country's Producer Price Index (PPI), a major measure of inflation at wholesale level, rose 7.3 percent year-on-year in August, according to NBS.

August's PPI growth was lower than July's 7.5 percent increase, the NBS said in a statement on its website.

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China's Aug industrial value-added output up 13.5%

China's industrial value-added output grew 13.5 percent year-on-year in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Sept 9.

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Fixed-asset investments up 25% in 1st 8 months

China's fixed-asset investments rose 25 percent year-on-year to hit 18.06 trillion yuan ($2.83 trillion) during the first eight months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sept 9.

The figure was 0.4 percentage points lower than that of the past seven months, the NBS said in an online statement.

[Full story]

China's August retail sales up 17%

China's retail sales increased by 17 percent year-on-year to hit 1.4705 trillion yuan ($230 billion) in August, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Sept 9.

Retail sales in August grew by 1.36 percent from July. From January to August, the country's retail sales rose 16.9 percent year-on-year to 11.49 trillion yuan, according to the NBS.

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Chinese PMI rose in August

China's manufacturing production rose slightly in August, ending a four-month period of consecutive declines.

However, falling export orders and increasing input costs may still pose a downside risk to economic growth, analysts said.

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Surging imports squeeze trade surplus in August

China's trade surplus for August fell sharply from July to $17.75 billion, the first monthly drop since February, as the nation's exports dipped and imports grew to a record high, official statistics showed.

The trade surplus last month was down from July's $31.5 billion, the highest in two and a half years. While the slackened global demand is pinching China's export growth, demand from the world's second-largest economy is still strong.

[Full story]

China's fiscal revenue up 34% in August

China's fiscal revenue increased 34.3 percent year-on-year to 754.64 billion yuan ($117.91 billion) in August, the Ministry of Finance said on Sept 13. [Full story]

FDI growth underlines a strong foreign interest

China's foreign direct investment (FDI) in August continued its double-digit growth, rising 11 percent from a year earlier to $8.4 billion and underscoring foreign companies' interest in the world's second largest economy.

From January to August, the country's FDI surged 17.7 percent to $77.63 billion. [Full story]

New yuan loans hit 548.5b yuan in August

China's new yuan-denominated loans reached 548.5 billion yuan ($85.8 billion) in August, up 9.3 billion yuan year-on-year, as indicated by data released by the country's central bank.

By the end of August, the outstanding broad money supply (M2), which covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 13.5 percent year-on-year to 78.07 trillion yuan, 1.2 percentage points below July's growth and 5.7 percentage points lower than the same period last year, according to the PBOC.

[Full story]

Comments & Opinion 

Inflation causes split opinion

A rise in the cost of labor is the main culprit behind the latest round of price hikes, an expert said, adding that wage rises are likely to increase inflation.

In an article published in Shanghai Securities News in late August, Liang Da, an expert with the National Bureau of Statistics, said that wage rises are a "double-edged sword" in that they raise people's purchasing power and expand consumption but also increase production costs. [Full story]

Slowing M2 growth 'within expectations'

The Chinese central bank said on Sept 12 that the slower pace of money supply growth in August was within expectations and the overall money supply was in line with current steady economic growth.

In a statement on its website, a spokesman for the central bank, the People's Bank of China (PBOC), said some data for August didn't fully reflect the actual total money supply because of diversifying financial tools and lenders' increasing off-balance-sheet assets. [Full story]

Consumer spending is not on the cards

The world, teetering on the edge of another financial crisis, needs China's consumers to save less and spend more. China needs its consumers to drive up domestic demand so it can reduce its heavy reliance on exports to keep fuelling economic growth, and Western countries want more business from China.

Unfortunately, China's consumers are not playing ball. They are still diligent savers and cautious spenders, as evidenced by the country's consumption to gross domestic product ratio of 36 percent - only half that of the US and about two-thirds the figure for Europe. [Full story]

Manufacturing firms need assistance

China's manufacturing industry is showing a declining trend, with production likely to drop again in the third quarter of this year. This is the greatest challenge the industry has faced since the global financial crisis that started in 2008.

But, unlike during the financial crisis, the problems faced by the industry today are related to the domestic market. [Full story]

No time for complacency

The combination of soaring consumer prices at home and the worsening global economic outlook has ostensibly added a further complication to China's endeavor to keep economic growth on track while preventing overheating.

As the world's second largest economy, China will have no chance of maintaining its growth momentum amid a global recession. So Chinese policymakers will have to keep a watchful eye on external weakness and the volatility of global markets. [Full story]