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<\/p>\nCHART OF THE WEEK<\/b><\/p>\n
After a surprisingly buoyant first six months, China\u2019s economic indicators for August came in below expectations, revealing a summer slowdown.<\/b> The downturn affected industrial production (+6.0% year-on-year in August, compared with +6.4% in July), retail sales (+10.1% compared with +10.4%), and investment (+4.9% compared with +6.8%).<\/p>\n
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OUR ANALYSIS<\/b><\/p>\n
August\u2019s faltering economic picture seems partly linked to tighter environmental controls and ongoing supply-side reforms. <\/b>Production by the most polluting industries and\/or those at overcapacity (ferrous and non-ferrous metals, cement, coal, \u2026) has fallen, whereas levels in the exporting sectors are more buoyant (computers, integrated circuits, \u2026). The downturn also seems linked to lower levels of state spending<\/b>, with the fall in investment stemming from infrastructure projects that depend on the public purse.<\/p>\n
Overall, August\u2019s economic slowdown would appear to be to the credit of the Chinese authorities<\/b>. They have secured enough leeway during the first half of the year to reduce pollution and pursue their reform package without having to deviate from their 6.5% growth target for 2017. In the run-up to the 19<\/b>th<\/b> Chinese Communist Party Congress set for 18<\/b>th<\/b> October, it is unlikely that the government will increase its efforts,<\/b> thus avoiding any sharp slowdowns and keeping expectations alive for a recovery in September.<\/p>\n
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The opinion expressed above is dated 19th September 2017 and is liable to change<\/em><\/p>\n This document is not pre-contractual or contractual in nature. It is provided for information purposes. The analyses and descriptions contained in this document shall not be interpreted as being advice or recommendations on the part of Lazard Fr\u00e8res Gestion SAS. This document does not constitute an offer or invitation to purchase or sell, nor an encouragement to invest. This document is the intellectual property of Lazard Fr\u00e8res Gestion SAS.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" CHART OF THE WEEK After a surprisingly buoyant first six months, China\u2019s economic indicators for August came in below expectations,… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":101016,"featured_media":6556,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[148],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6559","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-chart-of-the-week"],"yoast_head":"\n