Data on economic activity in China not encouraging: Sources
Economic problems continue to grow in China, while debt problems in the real estate sector remain on the agenda, while the Central Bank cut interest rates, the yuan declined against the dollar. The National Bureau of Statistics did not share statistics on high unemployment.
July indicators on the economy in China reveal that the country's economy continues to have difficulties in recovering after Covid-19 in many areas including production, consumption, investments, and employment.
The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced the data set covering July and the first 7 months in the country, consisting of industrial production, retail sales, and unemployment figures.
Accordingly, large industrial production increased by 3.7 percent in July compared to the same period last year, falling behind the 4.4 percent increase in June. Retail sales, which are considered a measure of consumption, increased by 2.5 percent year-on-year in July, underperforming the 3.1 percent rise in June.
CENTRAL BANK CUTS INTEREST RATE, YUAN FALLS
China also cut one-year interest rates by 15 basis points to support economic activity, the biggest rate cut since the start of the Covid pandemic. The yuan hit a nine-and-a-half-month low as vulnerabilities in the economy increased.
GROWING PROBLEM IN REAL ESTATE SECTOR
On the other hand, worries that the debt problems of China's largest private real estate development company could put pressure on homebuyers and financial institutions have caused market jitters and weakened forecasts for an imminent recovery in the sector and the economy.
Chinese real estate developer Country Garden's debt problems deepened as trading in its domestic bonds was halted. Problems in the real estate sector have raised concerns about the economic recovery.
Pressure is mounting on authorities to rebuild confidence in the economy amid concerns that more real estate companies could be on the brink of bankruptcy without financial support.
UNEMPLOYMENT NUMBERS NOT ANNOUNCED
While the unemployment rate rose by 0.1 percentage points to 5.3 in July compared to the previous month, the National Bureau of Statistics did not release unemployment figures by age group, including the high youth unemployment rate, citing "the need to improve labor statistics".
Unemployment among young people aged 16-24, which has been high in the country since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, reached 21.3 percent in June, the highest level since the 1990s.
Source: Anadolu Agency
