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IFF Newsletter Issue 60

TIME:2023-01-19

From the Editor

This week’s newsletter is packed with numbers as China and other major economies released annual economic data. China’s GDP grew 3% in 2022, missing the government’s target. Meanwhile China recorded more deaths than births last year. The country’s investment in property also fell 10%.
Inflation in the US and Germany eased in December while Argentina recorded an inflation rate of 94.8% for 2022. The bank of Japan kept the yield curve unchanged on Wednesday.
The IFF newsletter will be on hiatus next week as China celebrates the Lunar New Year. Wish you a prosperous, happy and healthy Year of the Rabbit!

Newsletter
China News

 
 
 

 

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China's economy expands 3% in 2022

China's economy grew 3% in 2022, missing its target of “around 5.5%”, data from the National Bureau of statistics showed on Tuesday.

The country’s gross domestic product (GDP) expanded 2.9%  in the fourth quarter compared to the last quarter in 2021 and remained unchanged on a quarterly basis.

Factory output rose 3.6% last year while December’s factory output grew 1.3%.

Retail sales in December dropped 1.8% from the previous year while sales went down 0.2% in 2022.

Unemployment eased slightly in December - 5.5% of the urban population were unemployed, down by 0.2% from November. Youth unemployment reached 16.7% in December, down by 0.4 percentage point from November.

 

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China's population declines in 2022

China’s population dropped by 850,000 to 1.41175 billion in 2022, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics on Tuesday.

Mortality rate surpassed birth rate for the first time since 1961. 

The country recorded 9.56 million births and 10.41 million deaths last year. The birth rate was 6.77 births per 1000 people while the country saw 7.37 deaths per 1000 people. 

 

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China's 2022 property investment drops 10%

Chinas property investment fell 10% in 2022 from the previous year, official data showed on Tuesday.

Investment in residential buildings dropped 9.5% year on year.

Property sales by floor area fell 24.3% compared to the previous year while funds raised by property developers dropped 25.9%.

Meanwhile home prices continued to drop in December. More Chinese cities saw home prices slide in December, survey by the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Monday.

Of the 70 large and medium-sized cities surveyed, 55 cities saw new home prices drop in December from the previous month.

 

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China's December inflation rises, PPI down 0.7%

China’s December consumer price index (CPI) rose 1.8% from the previous  year, up from November’s 1.6%, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Thursday.

The prices of cigarettes and alcohol are the biggest contributors to price growth last month.

The producer price index fell 0.7% from last year, slower than November’s drop of 1.3%.

Core inflation, which excludes food and energy, grew 0.7% in December.

The overall CPI last year grew 2% from the previous year.

 

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China December exports extend decline, 2022 exports up 7%

China’s December exports in dollar terms dropped 9.9% from a year earlier, down by 1.2 percentage point from November, customs data showed on Friday.
Imports fell 7.5% year-on-year in December, up from November’s decline of 10.6%.
China’s total exports grew 7% while import rose 1.1% in 2022. 
 
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China NEV sales surge 93.4% in 2022 

Sales of China’s new energy vehicles (NEVs) grew 93.4% year-on-year in 2022, data from the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers showed last Thursday.
Sales of NEVs, which include electric vehicles, plug-in hybrids and hydrogen vehicles, reached 6.887 million units last year.
Vehicle sales of the whole year grew 2.1% from the previous year, down by 1.7 percentage points compared to growth rate in 2021.
Vehicle production in December dropped 0.3% from November while sales grew 9.7% on a monthly basis.
 
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China to improve balance sheets of quality developers, Xinhua 
 

China has drafted an action plan to improve the balance sheets of good-quality property developers, Xinhua reported on Friday quoting unnamed sources.

The plan detailed 21 actions the government are to take to prevent the property crisis from spreading to good-quality property companies.

The plan will make loan extention for large and systemically important developers possible and allow banks to issues more loans to these firms.

The country will issue 100 billion yuan of loans for rental housing according to the plan.

The plan also allow financial institutions to decide which developers are of good quality. 

Newsletter
International News 
 
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US inflation eases in December

US’s consumer prices increased 6.5% in the 12 months to December, down from November’s 7.1%, data from US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) showed last Thursday.  
Inflation dropped 0.1% from November to December and decline in gas price, which fell 4.5% from November, was the largest contributor to the monthly decrease, the BLS said in a statement.
Prices excluding food and energy rose 5.7% last month.
December food prices increased 0.3% from November, slower than November’s monthly increase of 0.5%. 
 
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WEF warns of recession, inflation likely to peak in 2023  

The world will be in recession in 2023 as geopolitical tension continues to shape the global economy and further tightening of monetary policies by major economies is expected, said the World Economic Forum on Tuesday.

In its latest Chief Economists Outlook launched during its annual meeting in Davos, two thirds of the forum’s chief economists expected a global recession in 2023.

The US and Europe are expected to have bleak growth prospects while economists failed to reach a consensus on the economic outlook of China this year.

Monetary policy stance is to remain constant as inflation is likely to peak this year according to the outlook.

 

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German 2022 inflation rises 8.7%, eases in Dec 

Germany’s inflation in euro-area standard measure rose 8.7% last year while December’s inflation grew 9.6%, data from the Federal Statistical Office showed on Tuesday.

The Harmonised Index of Consumer Prices (HICP), the standard measure for the euro area, dropped 1.2% in December from the previous month.

High energy and food prices, triggered by the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, have driven the HICP to historical high in euro area.

 

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Japan's central bank keeps yield curve unchanged 

The Bank of Japan (BOJ) kept yield curve unchanged on Wednesday.

The BOJ set the short-term interest rate at -0.1% and 10-year Japanese government bonds (JGBs) yields will continue to stay at around 0%, according to its monetary policy statement.

The 10-year yields of JGBs will be allowed to fluctuate around plus and minus 0.5%, same as that in December, the statement said.  

 

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Argentina 2022 inflation hits 94.8%, a 30-year high

Inflation in Argentina reached 94.8% in 2022, the highest since 1991, official data showed.

The consumer price index rose 5.1% in December from the previous month and grew 94.8% from a year earlier.

The prices of restaurants and hotels saw the highest month rise of 7.2% in December.

 

 

 

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