Economic calendar in Asia Thursday, August 15, 2024 – China economic data for July

It’s a busy one on the economic calendar.

China’s economy is sputtering:

• the epic property crunch is now in its third year,
• burned by the property meltdown and lingering trauma of the pandemic, Chinese consumers are keeping a tight grip on their wallets
• local government finances are under severe strain
• private-sector confidence is in the doldrums

The activity data due today is expected to show some improvement in spending, retail sales are expected to have grown 2.6% year-on-year last month, versus 2.0% in June. Industrial output and investment growth are expected to be more or less stable around June levels.

The Australian jobs report is expected to continue to show growth, with a steady unemployment rate. I’ll post a preview of this separately. The prospect of slower growth than expected, or worse, is becoming more likely, at the amrgin, the longer the Reserve Bank of Australia hold rates at highs.

This snapshot from the ForexLive economic data calendar, access it here.

The times in the left-most column are GMT.

The numbers in the right-most column are the ‘prior’ (previous month/quarter as the case may be) result. The number in the column next to that, where there is a number, is the consensus median expected.

I’ve noted data for New Zealand and Australia with text as the similarity of the little flags can sometimes be confusing.

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.