Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Wednesday (April 3)
Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy
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Good Wednesday! This is TIAN in Beijing.
Welcome to monitor the pulse of China’s economy together with me.
DRIVING THE DAY, China's services trade registered rapid expansion in the first two months of the year, with notable growth observed in travel services, official data showed Wednesday.
The country's services trade totaled 1.19 trillion yuan (about 167.88 billion U.S. dollars) from January to February, marking a robust increase of 22.8 percent compared with the same period of last year, data from the Ministry of Commerce showed.
Services imports stood at over 704.9 billion yuan, rising 26.5 percent from a year ago, while exports gained 17.9 percent year on year to 486.17 billion yuan during the reporting period, resulting in a deficit of 218.73 billion yuan.
Trade in knowledge-intensive services expanded 14.2 percent year on year to about 464.87 billion yuan in the period, the data showed.
Meanwhile, China's central bank on Wednesday pledged efforts to enhance the implementation of a slew of monetary policies -- in order to effectively stimulate the economy.
The bank will appropriately increase the relending and rediscount quota for small enterprises and the agriculture sector, make good use of carbon reduction support tools, and establish a relending facility for sci-tech innovation and technical transformation, the People's Bank of China (PBOC) said in a statement released after the latest quarterly meeting of its monetary policy committee.
The PBOC also vowed to strengthen financial support for large-scale equipment upgrades and trade-in of consumer goods.
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, China has released a plan to relax the loan ratios for personal vehicle purchases in a bid to boost consumption and trade-in of automobiles.
Financial institutions can independently determine the upper limits of loan ratios for personal gasoline cars and new energy vehicles (NEVs) purchases, according to the plan issued by the country's central bank and the National Financial Regulatory Administration.
Currently, the highest loan ratios for personal gasoline car and NEV purchases stand at 80 percent and 85 percent, respectively.
The ratios for both types of cars could be raised to 100 percent after the adjustment, according to persons in the automobile industry.
The loan ratios for purchases of commercial gasoline vehicles, NEVs and second-hand vehicles remain unchanged at 70 percent, 75 percent, and 70 percent, respectively, according to the plan.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Shanghai Composite Index Fell 0.18% on Wednesday
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) lost 0.18% on Wednesday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) fell 0.44%.
Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) lost 1.56% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) fell 1.08%.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices higher Wednesday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 531 yuan (about 72.63 U.S. dollars) per gram, up 1.14 yuan from the previous trading day, while the price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above gained 0.06 yuan from the previous trading day to 533.8 yuan.
China's central bank adds liquidity via reverse repos
China's central bank conducted 2 billion yuan (about 281.89 million U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8 percent Wednesday.
The move aims to keep liquidity in the banking system reasonable and ample, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.
Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.0949 against USD Wednesday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 8 pips to 7.0949 against the U.S. dollar Wednesday, according to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System.
In China's spot foreign exchange market, the yuan is allowed to rise or fall by 2 percent from the central parity rate each trading day.
Hong Kong Hang Seng Index closes 1.22 pct lower
Hong Kong's stock market ended lower on Wednesday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 1.22 percent to close at 16,725.1 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.44 percent to end at 5,874.99 points, and the Hang Seng Tech Index lost 2.32 percent to close at 3,460.87 points.
BEFORE ENDING TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES,
Cotton futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for May 2024 delivery gained 30 yuan (about 4.23 U.S. dollars) to close at 16,250 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 346,512.0 lots with a turnover of 28.26 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed lower Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for May 2024 delivery lost 26 yuan (3.66 U.S. dollars) to close at 6,598 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 447,815.0 lots with a turnover of 29.39 billion yuan.
Iron ore futures closed lower on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active iron ore contract for September 2024 delivery dipped 19.5 yuan (about 2.75 U.S. dollars) to close at 749 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 811,923 lots, with a turnover of about 62.75 billion yuan.
No.1 soybean futures closed higher on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.
The most active No.1 soybean contract for May 2024 delivery gained 14 yuan (about 1.97 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,784 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 96,036 lots, with a turnover of about 4.60 billion yuan.
About the Newsletter:
Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily, trustworthy content on China's economy and regularly updates the insights of Chinese youth on Sino-US relations. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.