The February trade data from China is going to be disrupted by the New Year break. YTD figures will be for January and February, which will be a better guide given the moveable holiday period each year.
Imports are expected to have bounced back, exports less so. Chinese officials blame weaker global demand for the weaker export performance, but a degree of decoupling is also to blame. While Chinese business is crying out for further stimulus the best form of this might be less belligerence from China’s leaders. More engagement, less nationalism and isolationism would go a long way to easing foreign investor and business concerns. But, it looks very much like I’m dreamin’ on this wish.
- This snapshot from the ForexLive economic data calendar, access it here.
- The times in the left-most column are GMT.
- The numbers in the right-most column are the ‘prior’ (previous month/quarter as the case may be) result. The number in the column next to that, where there is a number, is the consensus median expected.
- I’ve noted data for New Zealand and Australia with text as the similarity of the little flags can sometimes be confusing.