China: Lower inflation could support further PBoC easing – UOB
Economist at UOB Group Ho Woei Chen, CFA, assesses the latest inflation figures in China.
Key Takeaways
“Headline inflation unexpectedly eased from its 2-year high as it fell to 2.5% y/y in Aug (Bloomberg est: 2.8% y/y, Jul: 2.7%) with food and non-food prices moderating. Core inflation (excluding food & energy) was unchanged from Jul at 0.8% y/y as domestic demand stayed weak amid expanding COVID lockdowns across cities.”
“Producer Price Index (PPI) dropped sharply to 2.3% y/y in Aug (Bloomberg est: 3.2% y/y, Jul: 4.2%). Weaker PPI was attributed to lower international oil and commodity prices as well as weak market demand in some domestic industries.”
“With CPI averaging just 1.9% y/y in Jan-Aug, we now expect full-year inflation at 2.2% instead of our earlier forecast of 2.5% (2021: 0.9%). We also lower our PPI forecast to average 4%-5% in 2022 compared to our earlier estimate of 5%-6% (2021: +8.1%).”
“We continue to see scope for further monetary policy easing, with the 1Y LPR to move lower to 3.55% by end-4Q22 (from current 3.65%). After 35 bps cut YTD, the 5Y rate is still poised to fall further (from current 4.30%) as PBoC extends support to the property market.”
Author
Pablo Piovano
FXStreet
Born and bred in Argentina, Pablo has been carrying on with his passion for FX markets and trading since his first college years.
