Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Wednesday (Sept. 18)

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 commercial banks saw a net forex settlement deficit of 8.7 billion yuan (about 1.23 billion U.S. dollars) in August, official data showed on Wednesday.

• In yuan terms, forex purchases by banks reached nearly 1.36 trillion yuan, while sales stood at about 1.37 trillion yuan, data from the State Administration of Foreign Exchange showed.

• China's cross-border capital flow has become more stable, with domestic foreign exchange supply and demand generally balanced, according to the administration.

• With the continuous improvement of both the internal and external environments, the foreign exchange market is expected to become more stable, and market transactions will remain rational and orderly, the administration said.

• In August, China's foreign trade continued its upward trajectory, with the net inflow of funds under the goods trade category increasing 11 percent month on month. The net capital inflow into China's domestic bond market continued to grow, said the administration.

MEANWHILE, today is the first working day after the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday. Here is some inspiring data published by relevant authorities in China, giving you a glimpse of the momentum of the Chinese economy:

• China's express delivery volume surged in the just-finished Mid-Autumn Festival holiday due partly to the increasing demand for mooncakes, seafood and fruits.

  • The State Post Bureau (SPB) said that during the three-day holiday ending Tuesday, nearly 1.41 billion parcels were delivered by some 4 million couriers across the country, up 45.7 percent from the same period a year ago.

  • According to the SPB, sales of mooncakes, traditionally eaten during the festival, were robust, and seafood and fruits have also registered rising delivery volumes since the beginning of September.

• China saw a total of nearly 5.26 million cross-border trips during the three-day Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, according to official data.

  • The average daily number of cross-border trips exceeded 1.75 million, marking an 18.6 percent year-on-year increase, the National Immigration Administration said on Wednesday.

  • During the holiday, cross-border trips by foreigners surged 62.2 percent to 554,000, while over 2.63 million trips were made by mainland residents, and 2.07 million by residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

• During this year's Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, Beijing received more than 8.17 million tourists, the municipal culture and tourism bureau said .

  • Among the total, some 7.7 million visitors flocked to the city's 212 key tourist attractions, up 13.6 percent year on year, according to the bureau.

  • Rural tourism in Beijing's suburbs emerged as a major highlight of this year's holiday travel.

  • The cumulative number of visitors to the city's rural areas reached over 1.45 million, bringing in operating income amounting to more than 170.5 million yuan (about 24 million U.S. dollars). The suburban districts of Yanqing, Miyun and Huairou, were the top three destinations in the rural tourism sector.

• China's box office revenue for the Mid-Autumn Festival holiday, reached 389 million yuan (54.89 million U.S. dollars), according to data released by the China Film Administration.

  • The figure marks a slight increase from the 367 million yuan recorded in 2023 and the 371 million yuan in 2022, according to box office tracker Maoyan.

  • In comparison, the Mid-Autumn box office hit a record high of over 800 million yuan in 2019.

  • This year, domestic films accounted for 85.35 percent of the total box office earnings during the holiday, the administration's data showed. 

ALSO ON WEDNESDAY,

IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,

Shanghai Composite Index Rose 0.49% on Wednesday

• China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) gained 0.49% on Wednesday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) rose 0.11%.

• Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) lost 1.17% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) fell 0.11%.

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 578 yuan (about 81.6 U.S. dollars) per gram, 5.76 yuan higher than the previous trading day.

• The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went up 7.54 yuan from the previous trading day to 582.54 yuan.

Chinese yuan strengthens to 7.087 against USD Wednesday

• The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, strengthened 160 pips to 7.087 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.

China's central bank conducts reverse repos Wednesday

• China's central bank conducted 568.2 billion yuan (about 80.17 billion U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.7 percent Wednesday.

• The move aims to offset the impact brought by the expiration of the medium-term lending facility (MLF) and reverse repos, as well as to keep liquidity reasonable and ample in the banking system, the central bank said.

AT THE END OF 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 January 2025 delivery gained 210 yuan (about 29.63 U.S. dollars) to close at 13,720 yuan per tonne.

• On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 349,452 lots with a turnover of 23.93 billion yuan..

Sugar futures closed higher Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.

• The most active sugar contract for January 2025 delivery gained 54 yuan (7.62 U.S. dollars) to close at 5,742 yuan per tonne.

• On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 293,966 lots with a turnover of 16.91 billion yuan.

Iron ore futures closed lower on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.

• The most active iron ore contract for January 2025 delivery dipped 29 yuan (about 4.09 U.S. dollars) to close at 675 yuan per tonne.

• On Wednesday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 562,352 lots, with a turnover of about 38.32 billion yuan.

No.1 soybean futures closed lower on Wednesday in daytime trading at the Dalian Commodity Exchange.

• The most active No.1 soybean contract for January 2025 delivery dipped 115 yuan (about 16.23 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,190 yuan per tonne.

• On Wednesday, the total trading volume of five listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 162,762 lots, with a turnover of about 6.89 billion yuan.

About the Newsletter:

Ran by TIAN Dongdong, this newsletter features daily, trustworthy content on China's economy. Having worked in Brussels, London, Cairo, and Tripoli for Chinese media as correspondent for several years, TIAN is now based in Beijing.