The Chinese press their belts. Retail sales, the main indicator of household consumption, increased 3.7% for one year last month, according to the National Statistics Office (SNB). Also below the forecasts of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg (+4.6%).
Julio is also the second consecutive month of deceleration in growth compared to forecasts, after the 4.8% increase in June, less expected (+5.6%).
It should be said that the prolonged crisis in the real estate sector and a high unemployment rate among young people have weighed for several years in the moral of Chinese consumers. The unemployment rate increased, even according to SNB, with 5.2% in July, two points compared to June.
Industrial production for the month of July was also less than expectations, with a growth of 5.7% in one year, against 6% provided by Bloomberg analysts.
Extension of the truce in American customs tasks
On Monday night, the president of the United States, Donald Trump, decided to extend the relaxation with Beijing about customs rights, while the truce concluded in May by the two powers theoretically ended.
Chinese foreign trade jumped in July compared to last year, according to customs data published in early August, frustrating forecasts. But expeditions to the United States specifically fell by 6.1% between June and July.
“I think that political decision makers will wait and observe the speed at which the economy will be reduced in the third quarter, then decide if new support measures are necessary in the fourth quarter,” he anticipates.
Source: BFM TV
