by Chris Becker
A little later than expected (maybe held a bit to “tweak” the official figures) but just after lunch, the Chinese August trade balance figures were posted. And it confirms many fears that the economic slowdown is a bit too broad.
Exports fell over 5.5% year on year, while imports plummeted nearly 14% over the same period, nearly double what was expected.
The Aussie dollar fell somewhat on the news, retracing all the gains from the ebullient NAB Business Survey at holding at 69.50 against the USD. The Shanghai Composite is down 0.4% as well, while the ASX200 remains 1% on acquisition action.
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The monthly surplus is still running at ca. $60USD billion which might explain why the PBOC is holding fast on the Yuan devaluation.