Everything You Need to Know About China's Economy on Wednesday (July 10)
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 consumer prices gained for the fifth straight month in June as the warming consumer sentiment continued to drive domestic demand, official data showed Wednesday.
The consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, was up 0.2 percent year on year last month, slightly lower than the 0.3 percent increase in May, said the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The core CPI, deducting food and energy prices, went up 0.6 percent, flat with that in May.
The supply at the consumer market was sufficient and the price level maintained moderate growth, NBS statistician Dong Lijuan said.
On a monthly basis, the CPI inched down 0.2 percent in June due to seasonal factors. The decrease was slightly bigger than the 0.1-percent drop in May.
ABOUT CHINA-EU RELATIONS, China's Ministry of Commerce (MOC) on Wednesday launched a trade and investment barrier investigation into the relevant practices adopted by the European Union (EU) in the EU's foreign subsidy investigations, the ministry said in an announcement.
The investigation was initiated at the request of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Machinery and Electronic Products, whose qualifications and request documents have been verified, according to the MOC.
Under its foreign subsidies regulation, the EU has conducted preliminary, in-depth and raid investigations into Chinese companies involved in sectors such as locomotives, photovoltaics, wind power and security check equipment. The EU's practices in such investigations will be examined, said the MOC.
The MOC said its investigation will involve surveys, hearings and on-site activities in order to gather information from all stakeholders.
While the investigation is set to conclude by January 10, 2025, it could be extended to April 10 under special circumstances, according to the ministry.
ALSO ON WEDNESDAY, the Customs Tariff Commission of the State Council will continue to levy anti-dumping duties on optical fiber preforms imported from Japan and the United States, the Ministry of Commerce announced.
Effective from Thursday, the duties will be imposed for five years, the ministry said in a final ruling based on an anti-dumping investigation report released recently. An anti-dumping investigation into this matter was launched in 2023.
Imports from Japan will be subject to rates ranging from 14.4 percent to 31.2 percent, while those from the United States will be subject to rates between 17.4 percent and 41.7 percent.
In August 2015, China started to impose anti-dumping duties on fiber preforms imported from Japan and the United States for a period of two years, and later decided to continue with such measures in 2018 for five more years.
MEANWHILE, China's Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) on Wednesday issued licenses to the nation's three major telecom operators to set up international communications gateway exchanges in four cities.
China Telecom, China Mobile and China Unicom are approved to set up the gateway exchanges in the cities of Nanning, Qingdao, Kunming and Haikou, according to a statement from the ministry.
The gateway exchanges that connect to the global network are an important information infrastructure for China's international communications, the MIIT said.
According to the country's telecommunication regulations, the provision of an international communications service within the territory of the People's Republic of China shall only be done through such gateway exchanges established with the approval of information industry authorities.
IN TODAY'S FINANCIAL MARKET,
Shanghai Composite Index Fell 0.68% on Wednesday
China’s benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (000001.SH) lost 0.68% on Wednesday, while the Shenzhen Component Index (399001.SZ) fell 0.1%.
Shanghai’s tech-heavy STAR 50 Index (000688.SH) gained 0.07% for the day, while Shenzhen’s similar ChiNext Index (399006.SZ) fell 0.06%.
China's benchmark interbank gold prices lower Wednesday
According to the China Foreign Exchange Trade System, The benchmark price for gold that is 99.95 percent pure or above stood at 557 yuan (78.07 U.S. dollars) per gram, 1.9 yuan lower than the previous trading day.
The price for gold that is 99.99 percent pure or above went down 3.32 yuan from the previous trading day to 555.9 yuan.
Chinese yuan weakens to 7.1342 against USD Wednesday
The central parity rate of the Chinese currency renminbi, or the yuan, weakened 32 pips to 7.1342 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 2 billion yuan (280.34 million U.S. dollars) of seven-day reverse repos at an interest rate of 1.8 percent Wednesday.
The move aims to keep liquidity reasonable and ample in the banking system, the central bank said.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closes 0.29 pct lower
Hong Kong's stock market ended lower on Wednesday with the benchmark Hang Seng Index down 0.29 percent to close 17,471.67 points.
The Hang Seng China Enterprises Index fell 0.39 percent to end at 6,251.18 points, the Hang Seng Tech Index fell 0.01 percent to close at 3,600.49 points.
AT THE END OF TODAY'S SHARING, LET'S TAKE A LOOK AT YOUR DAILY FUTURES:
Cotton futures closed lower Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange (ZCE).
The most active cotton contract for September 2024 delivery lost 200 yuan (about 28.03 U.S. dollars) to close at 14,405 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for six listed cotton futures contracts on the ZCE was 455,473 lots with a turnover of 32.98 billion yuan.
Sugar futures closed lower Wednesday in daytime trading on the Zhengzhou Commodity Exchange.
The most active sugar contract for September 2024 delivery lost 73 yuan (about 10.23 U.S. dollars) to close at 6,150 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume for five listed sugar futures contracts on the ZCE was 511,131 lots with a turnover of 31.32 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 15 yuan (about 2.1 U.S. dollars) to close at 813 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of 11 listed iron ore futures contracts on the exchange was 419,919 lots, with a turnover of about 34.29 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 September 2024 delivery dipped 34 yuan (about 4.77 U.S. dollars) to close at 4,633 yuan per tonne.
On Wednesday, the total trading volume of six listed No.1 soybean futures contracts on the exchange was 127,345 lots, with a turnover of about 5.87 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.