Irrational numbers

13 Jul 2012 By John Foley Follow @johnsfoley

That figure doesn’t sound so bad; it’s what most economists expected. But industrial data and mounting tales of job culls and bankruptcies tell a more sober story. It looks worryingly like China is being propped up by bank lending, and a risky revival of the property sector.

This content is for Subscribers only

Context News

China’s GDP growth slowed to 7.6 percent in the first three months of 2012, measured against the same time a year ago. The growth rate was the slowest since the first quarter of 2009.
Electricity output was 393 billion kilowatt-hours in June, flat on the previous year. Over the first half of 2012, electricity production grew 3.7 percent over 2011 - less than a third the previous year’s growth rate.
China’s retail sales in June were up 13.7 percent on a year ago versus May’s 13.8 percent.
New loans totaled $144.43 billion in June, up from $124.364 billion in May.

Email a friend

Please complete the form below.

Required fields *