Major Macro Economic Statistics

Data and Graphic 

China's Nov CPI up 4.2%

China's consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose 4.2 percent year-on-year in November, further weakening from 5.5 percent in October due to falling food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Friday.

November's inflation rate marked a 13-month low, according to NBS data.

On a monthly basis, the cost of living dipped 0.2 percent in November, the NBS. [Full story]

China's Nov PPI up 2.7%

China's Producer Price Index (PPI), a major measure of inflation at the wholesale level, rose 2.7 percent in November year-on-year, indicating subsiding inflationary pressure for December. [Full story]

China's industrial output up 12.4% in Nov

China's industrial value-added output grew 12.4 percent year-on-year in November, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Friday. The figure was 0.8 percentage points lower than the October level, the NBS said in an online statement. On a monthly basis, the industrial value-added output increased by 0.91 percent.

In the first 11 months of 2011, the industrial value-added output increased 14 percent year-on-year, down 0.1 percentage points from the first 10 months. [Full story]

China's fixed asset investment up 24.5% in first 11 months

China's fixed asset investment rose 24.5 percent year-on-year to 26.9452 trillion yuan ($4.3 trillion) in the first 11 months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) announced Friday. The growth rate was down 0.4 percentage points compared to that in the first ten months, the figures showed.

Urban fixed asset investment last month registered a slower pace compared to some other months of the year. It was down 0.19 percent from October. [Full story]

China's retail sales up 17% in first 11 months

China's retail sales grew 17 percent year-on-year to reach 16.35 trillion yuan ($2.58 trillion) during the first 11 months of the year, the National Bureau of Statistics said Friday.

[Full story]

PMI drop indicates further slowdown

China's manufacturing sector shrank in November for the first time in nearly three years, a fresh sign of a further economic slowdown that analysts say may prompt the country to loosen monetary policies.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI), a main gauge of manufacturing activity, tumbled to 49 percent from 50.4 percent in October, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

A PMI under 50 indicates a contraction of manufacturing activity - a situation that hasn't been seen since February 2009. [Full story]

Foreign trade growth slows to 17.6% in Nov

China's foreign trade rose 17.6 percent year-on-year to $334.4 billion in November this year amid weak external demand and a slowing domestic economy, the General Administration of Customs (GAC) announced Saturday.

The November imports rose 22.1 percent year-on-year to $159.94 billion, while exports increased 13.8 percent from a year earlier to $174.46 billion, the GAC said in a statement on its website.

Trade surplus in the month narrowed 34.9 percent from a year earlier to reach $14.52 billion. [Full story]

Fiscal revenue growth slows to 10.6% in Nov

China's fiscal revenues rose 10.6 percent year-on-year in November, a slower growth from October as the economy downshifted, according to official data released Sunday.

The slowdown was caused by a moderation of the economic growth, higher exemption threshold for personal income taxes, declining car and property purchases and increasing export tax rebates, the Ministry of Finance said in a statement. [Full story]

China's new loans hit 562b yuan in Nov

China's new yuan-denominated lending in November rose 7.8 billion yuan ($1.2 billion) year-on-year to 562.2 billion yuan, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) , the central bank, announced Wednesday.

New loans in the month were smaller compared to that in October, which stood at 586.8 billion yuan.

By the end of November, the outstanding broad money supply (M2), which covers cash in circulation and all deposits, rose 12.7 percent year-on-year to 82.55 trillion yuan, according to data released by the PBOC. [Full story]

China's November FDI down 9.76%

The foreign direct investment (FDI) China attracted in November dropped 9.76 percent year-on-year to $8.76 billion, the Ministry of Commerce (MOC) said Thursday.

In November, China approved the establishment of 2,718 foreign-invested companies, down 12.91 percent from a year earlier, said ministry spokesman Shen Danyang.

The November figure brought the total FDI in the first 11 months to $103.77 billion, up 13.15 percent year-on-year. [Full story]

Comments & Opinion 

Cautious policy needed

Policymakers charting China's monetary and fiscal policies for 2012 at the Central Economic Work Conference, which starts on Monday, should not ignore the strong headwinds blowing both inside and outside the country.

They must be prepared for a weakening domestic economy and volatile external environment, especially in Europe, which is China's largest trade partner.

The weekend agreement reached in Europe, which offered temporary relief to global investors and those worried about a potential collapse of the euro, remains a far cry from a fiscal union that will prevent the European crisis from happening again. [Full story]

Responsible businesses have advantage

Judging by the pall of smog that hangs over many Chinese cities, it is all too easy to think that doing nothing seems to be the most common course of action for the average Chinese company, rather than making the huge financial, technological and managerial investments necessary to clean up their act.

Although there is a commitment at government level to source 15 percent of its energy needs from non-fossil fuels and to reduce carbon emissions per unit of GDP by 40 percent by 2020, many running Chinese companies seem to be asking why should they invest their resources into supporting a cleaner environment, reducing carbon emissions and enhancing social development, when their profit margins are being squeezed by the global slowdown and multinationals' supply chains. [Full story]

China eyes stable growth amid 'extremely grim' outlook

China will seek stable and relatively fast economic growth next year amid the "extremely grim and complicated" global outlook, according to a statement issued after the closure of an annual central economic work conference on Wednesday.

The main theme of next year's economic and social development will be "making progress while maintaining stability," the statement said. The plans mapped out at the conference will chart the course of next year's economic work.

"Stability means to maintain basically steady macro-economic policy, relatively fast economic growth, stable consumer prices and social stability," the statement said. [Full story]