High-rise
residential
and
commercial
buildings
are
being
constructed
near
Dongyu
Road,
Qiantan,
in
the
Pudong
New
Area
of
Shanghai,
China,
on
March
15,
2024.
Nurphoto
|
Nurphoto
|
Getty
Images
BEIJING
—
China’s
economic
data
for
the
first
two
months
of
the
year
beat
analysts’
expectations
on
Monday.
Retail
sales
rose
5.5%,
better
than
the
5.2%
increase
forecast
in
a
Reuters
poll,
while
industrial
production
climbed
7%,
compared
with
estimates
of
5%
growth.
Fixed
asset
investment
rose
by
4.2%,
more
than
the
3.2%
estimated
by
analysts.
The
unemployment
rate
in
February
for
cities
came
in
at
5.3%.
Online
retail
sales
of
physical
goods
rose
by
14.4%
from
a
year
earlier
during
the
first
two
months
of
the
year.
Investment
into
real
estate
fell
by
9%
in
the
first
two
months
of
the
year
from
a
year
ago.
Investment
in
infrastructure
rose
by
6.3%
while
those
in
manufacturing
increased
by
9.4%
during
that
time.
National
Bureau
of
Statistics
Spokesperson
Liu
Aihua
said
that
real
estate
remains
in
a
period
of
“adjustment,”
according
to
a
CNBC
translation
of
his
statement
in
Mandarin.
When
asked
about
the
unemployment
rate
for
people
aged
16
to
24,
Liu
said
the
figures
would
be
released
a
few
days
after
the
monthly
press
conference
on
economic
data.
Economic
figures
for
January
and
February
are
typically
combined
in
China
to
smooth
out
variations
from
the
Lunar
New
Year,
which
can
fall
in
either
month
depending
on
the
calendar
year.
It
is
the
country’s
biggest
national
holiday,
in
which
factories
and
businesses
remain
closed
for
at
least
a
week.
This
year,
the
number
of
domestic
tourist
trips
and
revenue
during
the
holiday
grew
compared
with
last
year
as
well
as
pre-pandemic
figures
from
2019.
But
Nomura’s
Chief
China
Economist
Ting
Lu
pointed
out
that
“average
tourism
spending
per
trip
was
still
9.5%
below
pre-pandemic
levels
in
2019.”
Retail
sales
did
not
rebound
from
the
pandemic
as
strongly
as
many
had
expected
as
consumers
have
grown
uncertain
about
their
future
income.
New
loans
in
February
missed
expectations
and
fell
from
the
prior
month,
“even
after
adjusting
for
seasonality,”
Goldman
Sachs
analysts
said
in
a
report
Friday.
“The
persistent
weakness
in
property
transactions
and
low
consumer
sentiment
may
continue
to
weigh
on
household
borrowing,”
the
analysts
said.
“More
monetary
policy
easing
is
needed.”
People’s
Bank
of
China
Governor
Pan
Gongsheng
said
earlier
this
month
there
was
still
room
to
cut
the
reserve
requirement
ratio,
or
the
amount
of
cash
banks
need
to
have
on
hand.
Goldman
expects
25
basis
point
cuts
to
that
ratio
in
the
second
quarter
of
this
year,
as
well
as
in
the
fourth
quarter.
Real
estate,
which
accounts
for
a
significant
part
of
household
assets,
has
slumped
over
the
last
few
years
after
Beijing’s
crackdown
on
developers’
high
reliance
on
debt
for
growth.
The
average
property
price
for
70
major
Chinese
cities
fell
by
4.5%
in
February
from
January
on
a
seasonally
adjusted,
annualized
basis,
according
to
Goldman
Sachs’
analysis
using
a
weighted
average
of
official
figures.
That’s
steeper
than
the
3.5%
month-on-month
drop
in
property
prices
in
January,
Goldman
Sachs
said.
“Our
high
frequency
tracker
suggests
that
30-city
new
home
transaction
volume
declined
by
53.2%
[year-on-year]
in
early
March
after
adjusting
to
the
lunar
calendar
basis,”
the
analysts
said
in
a
report.
Chinese
authorities
did
not
reveal
significant
new
support
for
the
massive
real
estate
sector
during
an
annual
parliamentary
meeting
that
ended
last
week.
Instead,
Beijing
emphasized
the
country’s
focus
on
developing
manufacturing
and
technological
capabilities.
Data
earlier
this
month
showed
China’s
exports
for
January
and
February
rose
by
7.1%
in
U.S.
dollar
terms,
beating
expectations
for
a
1.9%
increase.
Imports
climbed
by
3.5%
during
that
time,
also
topping
Reuters’
forecast
for
growth
of
1.5%.
This
is
a
developing
story.
Please
check
back
for
updates.
