Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Friday (May 24)

Your Daily & Trustworthy Updates on the Chinese Economy

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Good Friday! This is TIAN in Ningbo city, Zhejiang Province.

Welcome to monitor the pulse of China’s economy together with me.

DRIVING THE DAY, China remains New Zealand's top milk powder destination.

• Milk powder exports to China increased 987 percent in value, and 1,004 percent in quantity in the year ended April 2024, compared with the year ended April 2008, the statistics department Stats NZ said on Friday.

• In the year ended April 2024, 30 percent of New Zealand's milk powder exports were sent to China, said Stats NZ international trade manager Alasdair Allen.

• Milk powder exports were valued at 9.7 billion NZ dollars (5.91 billion U.S. dollars) in the year ended April 2024, making up 14 percent of the total value of New Zealand exports, making it the country's largest export commodity, Stats NZ said.

MEANWHILE, China on Friday issued this year's second batch of ultra-long special treasury bonds.

• This batch involves bonds with a term of 20 years. The bonds were issued at the Beijing Stock Exchange with a total sum of 40 billion yuan (about 5.63 billion U.S. dollars) and an interest rate of 2.49 percent.

• It was China's first issuance of the 20-year ultra-long special treasury bonds this year.

• China began issuing ultra-long bonds with terms of 30 years on May 17, and will begin issuing 50-year bonds on June 14. The issuance of the last batch of these bonds will be completed by mid-November.

ALSO ON FRIDAY, China generated 32.85 zettabytes of data in 2023, up 22.44 percent year on year, said a report released at the seventh Digital China Summit in Fuzhou, east China's Fujian Province.

• According to the 2023 edition of the national data resource survey report, China experienced explosive growth in unstructured data production in 2023. The rapid development of 5G and AI technologies, along with the widespread use of smart devices, contributed significantly to the increase in total data volume through content creation and audiovisual media.

• In terms of data storage, China's cumulative data storage volume reached 1.73 zettabytes in 2023, with its storage space utilization rate climbing to 59 percent.

• By the end of 2023, the scale of computing power across more than 2,200 computing centers nationwide had grown by approximately 30 percent year on year. The demand for computing power for large model training surged, with increased need observed in the scientific, governmental, financial and industrial sectors, said the report.

IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,

Shanghai Composite Index Fell 0.88% on Friday

• China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) lost 0.88% on Friday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) fell 1.23%.

• Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) lost 2.05% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) fell 1.81%.

China's benchmark interbank gold prices lower Friday

• According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, the benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 554.37 yuan (about 77.97 U.S. dollars) per gram, 10.73 yuan lower than the previous trading day.

• The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went down 11.88 yuan from the previous trading day to 556.72 yuan.

Chinese yuan weakens to 7.1102 against USD Friday

• The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 4 pips to 7.1102 against the U.S. dollar Friday, 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 adds liquidity via reverse repos

• China's central bank conducted 2 billion yuan (about 281.29 million U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8 percent Friday.

• The move aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample in the banking system, the People's Bank of China said in a statement.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 1.38 pct lower

• Hong Kong's stock market ended lower Friday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 1.38 percent to close at 18,608.94 points.

• The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 1.44 percent to end at 6,605.24 points, the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 2.48 percent to close at 3,799.47 points.

AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:

Cotton futures closed higher Friday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).

• The most active cotton contract for September 2024 delivery gained 55 yuan (about 7.74 U.S. dollars) to close at 15,540 yuan per tonne.

• On Friday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 354,062 lots with a turnover of 27.48 billion yuan.

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

• The most active sugar contract for September 2024 delivery gained 6 yuan (about 84.39 U.S. cents) to close at 6,149 yuan per tonne.

• On Friday, the total trading volume for six listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 383,955.0 lots with a turnover of 23.57 billion yuan.

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

• The most active iron ore contract for September 2024 delivery dipped 4 yuan (about 56 U.S. cents) to close at 908 yuan per tonne.

• On Friday, the total trading volume of 12 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 366,297 lots, with a turnover of about 33.21 billion yuan.

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

• The most active No.1 soybean contract for July 2024 delivery dipped 5 yuan (about 70 U.S. cents) to close at 4,673 yuan per tonne.

• On Friday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 99,748 lots, with a turnover of about 4.67 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.