Just the one price of economic data coming up from China today.

There is often concern expressed about the veracity of Chinese economic data, so these releases are usually taken with a grain of salt.

  • Today we get July Industrial Profits data. Last month's result was -0.3% y/y.
  • Its due at 0130GMT (same time as the stock markets open in China)

While I'm at it .... timings on what to watch for in the Chinese morning today:

  • Just after 0115GMT we get the PBOC yuan rate fix (Yesterday the central rate was set at a 4-year yuan low, for the second day in a row .... continuing the devaluation trend)
  • Around 0125GMT I'll have the early indications of where the CSI300 and the Shanghai Composite will open for the session
  • 0130GMT, Chinese stock markets open

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While I'm on the subject of the data accuracy...

An analyst at Evercore ISI estimates that the Chinese economy actually shrank in July

Suggests China's forecast for 2015 is overly optimistic, if not unrealistic

  • "Our proprietary Synthetic Growth Index (SGI) fell 1.1% month-on-month in July, and was also down 1.1% year-on-year," said analyst David Straszheim at Evercore ISI.
  • "Even if we adjust our SGI upward (for too-little representation of services-lack of data), we believe actual economic growth in China is far below the official 7.0% year-on-year. And it is not improving."

The SGI is a weighted average of seven components including railway freight, airline passengers, and electricity consumption.

More here