Monthly activity data from China was released during the Asian trading session and turned out to be mixed. This was the first monthly activity reading from China in 2023 and included year-to-date data for February, so for January and February combined. Industrial production missed expectations slightly, retail sales came more or less in-line with market expectations and urban investments beat expectations. While data came in mixed compared to expectations, a point to note is that all three metrics increased compared to year ago values. Small beat in retail sales data is welcome as Chinese authorities hinted they aim to leave fiscal spending more or less unchanged compared to 2022, meaning that domestic demand will be key in achieving goals set for 2023.
China, Monthly activity data for January-February period
Start investing today or test a free demo
Open account Try demo Download mobile app Download mobile app-
Industrial Production: 2.4% YoY vs 2.7% YoY expected
-
Retail Sales: 3.5% YoY vs 3.4% YoY expected
-
Urban Investments: 5.5% YoY vs 4.3% YoY expected
As it is usually the case, the Australian dollar moved following the release of Chinese data as China is a key trading partner for Australia, especially when it comes to commodities exports. Taking a look at AUDJPY at D1 interval, we can see that the pair jumped earlier today (orange circle) but has since erased all of the gains and turned lower. A point to note is that today's upward move could be seen as an attempt to break back above the lower limit of a recently broken upward channel. Attempts to climb back above this hurdle were made today, yesterday and on Monday and failed on all three days, suggesting that resumption of declines may be on the cards.
Source: xStation5
This content has been created by XTB S.A. This service is provided by XTB S.A., with its registered office in Warsaw, at Prosta 67, 00-838 Warsaw, Poland, entered in the register of entrepreneurs of the National Court Register (Krajowy Rejestr Sądowy) conducted by District Court for the Capital City of Warsaw, XII Commercial Division of the National Court Register under KRS number 0000217580, REGON number 015803782 and Tax Identification Number (NIP) 527-24-43-955, with the fully paid up share capital in the amount of PLN 5.869.181,75. XTB S.A. conducts brokerage activities on the basis of the license granted by Polish Securities and Exchange Commission on 8th November 2005 No. DDM-M-4021-57-1/2005 and is supervised by Polish Supervision Authority.
