What will Chinese trade data tell us about the health of the economy?
Trade data slated for release on Wednesday will give markets a better read on how domestic and foreign demand have held up for the world’s second-largest economy.
Economists polled by Bloomberg have forecast a year-on-year drop of 7 per cent in the dollar value of China’s imports in November and a 4.4 per cent dip in imports, both of which would mark substantially sharper falls than in October.
Overshadowing the data is China’s approach to managing the coronavirus. Chinese authorities have stopped short of any explicit changes to President Xi Jinping’s zero-Covid approach but analysts say the language in official statements has eased following a wave of nationwide protests criticising top leaders for sticking with the economically disruptive policy when the rest of the world has long since moved on.
The outlook for exports in particular has darkened…
