1. Text: | Print|

      Data show chill in economy

      2014-03-14 07:53 China Daily Web Editor: qindexing
      1
      A worker manufacture aluminum products at a factory in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. The National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday that year-on-year industrial output growth slowed to 8.6 percent in January and February, down from 9.7 percent in December. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

      A worker manufacture aluminum products at a factory in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. The National Bureau of Statistics said on Thursday that year-on-year industrial output growth slowed to 8.6 percent in January and February, down from 9.7 percent in December. PROVIDED TO CHINA DAILY

      Uncertainty likely to persist: Experts

      The rapid deceleration of China's economic growth indicators in the year's first two months shocked the market, as industrial output, fixed-asset investment and retail sales all dropped to unusual lows.

      Speculation has been widespread among experts that economic policy may be eased if the downward pressure continues to threaten the government's GDP target of about 7.5 percent this year.

      The National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday that year-on-year industrial output growth rate slowed to 8.6 percent in January and February, down from 9.7 percent in December and 10 percent in November. It fell to its lowest level since May 2009.

      Growth of overall fixed-asset investment, which is seen as the strongest driver of the world's second-largest economy, dropped to 17.7 percent during the first two months, compared with whole-year growth of 19.6 percent in 2013 and 18.2 percent in the fourth quarter. It reached a 13-year low for those same months.

      In the meantime, total retail sales increased by 11.8 percent, an easing from 13.6 in December and 13.7 in November, and was the slowest pace for the period since 2004.

      The above figures, combined with earlier released sluggish data of exports and manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, indicate that the whole economy may even slip below 7.5 percent for the first quarter, according to economists.

      Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index retreated 0.67 percent at the close after rising as much as 0.6 percent earlier in the day. The Shanghai Composite Index pared gains after the reports and it closed 1.1 percent higher.

      Bank of America Merrill Lynch lowered its forecast of China's first-quarter GDP growth to 7.3 percent from 8 percent after the reports.

      The Ministry of Finance announced on the same day that in January and February, the nation's total fiscal income advanced by 11.1 percent, slower than 14.3 percent in December and 15.9 percent in November.

      Xu Hongcai, a senior economist at China Center for International Economic Exchanges, a government think tank, called the economic performance in the first two months "unusual but acceptable".

      "It shows that the economy will face many uncertainties this year, and policymakers should leave room for unexpected situations," Xu said.

      He expected growth momentum to be weaker in the first quarter, but a return should come after April, with stable GDP growth of about 7.6 percent maintained for the whole year.

      "Big driving forces for economic growth will come from the market's endogenous dynamic, which will be further stimulated by restructure reforms," Xu said. "For example, small and micro enterprises are expected to receive more supports from cutting taxes. And financial reform will inject more private capital to help developing industrial economy."

      Premier Li Keqiang expressed confidence at a news conference after the close of the National People's Congress meeting on Thursday that the nation will meet the flexible growth target of about 7.5 percent this year.

      In order to achieve the target, Liu Ligang, chief economist in China at the ANZ Bank, said the central bank may need to cut its reserve requirement ratio and adjust monetary policy to a more proactive stance.

      But Lu Zhengwei, a senior economist at Industrial Bank, predicted that the People's Bank of China is unlikely to cut the RRR until April, as the currency market liquidity is relatively sufficient.

      Louis Kuijs, chief economist in China at Royal Bank of Scotland, said it won't be necessary for the government to pursue expansionary policies even if GDP growth threatened to fall to between 6.5 percent and 7 percent.

      With a benign outlook supported by domestic growth drivers and improving global demand, the government can succeed in cool the rise in the credit-to-GDP ratio while protecting its bottom line on growth, he said. "Such a scenario would be welcomed by financial markets and good for financial asset prices."

      But if the downward pressures persists, Kuijs expects the government to look for ways to support growth, and the best way could be via pure fiscal policy — "with central government spending rising, financed by bond issuance", as there is not much room for monetary stimulus.

      Comments (0)
      Most popular in 24h
        Archived Content
      Media partners:

      Copyright ©1999-2018 Chinanews.com. All rights reserved.
      Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.

      主站蜘蛛池模板: 亚洲av成人无码网站…| 国产一卡2卡3卡4卡2021免费观看| 亚洲国产人成在线观看| 亚洲综合精品网站在线观看| 可以免费看黄的网站| 国产一精品一AV一免费| 免费人成视频在线播放| 亚洲色www永久网站| 亚洲精品免费在线| 亚洲精品成人网站在线观看| 日韩精品电影一区亚洲| 手机在线免费视频| 99在线精品视频观看免费| 久久久久国色av免费看| 怡红院免费全部视频在线视频| 粉色视频在线观看www免费| 亚洲欧洲av综合色无码| 亚洲剧场午夜在线观看| 久久水蜜桃亚洲av无码精品麻豆| 亚洲中文字幕无码一区二区三区 | 亚洲人成色777777在线观看| 四虎永久免费地址在线观看| 成人免费毛片观看| 成年性生交大片免费看| 曰批全过程免费视频在线观看| 1000部无遮挡拍拍拍免费视频观看| 中文字幕免费不卡二区| 任你躁在线精品免费| 成人片黄网站色大片免费观看cn| 一级中文字幕乱码免费| 日韩在线视频播放免费视频完整版| 美女被免费视频网站a| 免费高清A级毛片在线播放| 免费夜色污私人影院网站| 免费国产黄网站在线看| 老妇激情毛片免费| 国产精品免费久久| 你懂得的在线观看免费视频| 全黄大全大色全免费大片| 色欲色香天天天综合网站免费| 8x成人永久免费视频|