Chinese consumer sentiment registers modest uptick
naky
www.diecastingpartsupplier.com
2015-07-31 16:35:58
Chinese consumer sentiment improved in July, according to a closely-watched monthly survey, although the result is still far off those recorded during the country's rapid economic expansion in the noughties.
The Westpac MNI China Consumer Sentiment Indicator rose to 114.5 in July, from a reading of 112.3 in June. It was the third consecutive month of improvement.
Coinciding with the beginning of China's equity rout, the monthly report also gives a sense of how turmoil in the stockmarket is affecting ordinary Chinese households - and the answer (overall) is: not much. From the statement:
The survey was conducted whilst the equity market was in free fall to its early July trough. Ergo, this survey can be interpreted as a referendum on the question "Is the equity market an important factor in the collective psyche of Chinese households?" The ballots are in - and the answer is a decisive "no". Every one of the five components that go into the calculation of the Westpac MNI China CSI increased in July.
The indicator has been drifting downwards since the middle of 2013, when it was generally 120+, as the shine comes off China's era of rapid economic growth. The highest reading on record for the series was 131.9, in February 2010.
The economy, which has enjoyed some of the fastest growth rates in the world in the past two decades, is now slowing and policymakers have said they will target economic growth of "around 7 per cent" this year — the slowest expansion in a quarter century.