China’s GDP contracts 6.8% YoY in Q1 vs. -6.5% expected, AUD/USD little changed

China’s GDP arrives at -6.8% YoY in Q1, meets expectations.
China’s March Retail Sales disappoint, Industrial Production beat estimates.
AUD/USD pays little heed to the mixed Chinese data dump.

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

China's economy contracted sharply in the first quarter due to the coronavirus outbreak led economic disruptions, the official data released at 02:00 GMT showed.

The economy marked its first quarterly decline on record in the first three months of 2020.

The annualized first-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) came in at -6.8%, missing the forecasted print of -6.5% and down from the previous quarter's GDP of +6.0%.

Inter-quarter, China’s GDP arrived at -9.8% in Q1 vs. -9.9% expected and +1.5% previous.

China’s March Retail Sales YoY, the number arrived at -15.8% vs. -10.0% expected and -20.5% last, with Industrial Output YoY at -1.1% and -7.3% expected and -13.5% last.

Meanwhile, Fixed Asset Investment YoY stood at -16.1% in March vs. -15.1% expected and -24.5% last.

AUD/USD reaction

AUD/USD pays little heed to downbeat China's Q1 GDP and mixed activity numbers for March, as it holds the higher ground near 0.6375 region, helped by broad-based US dollar weakness and the upbeat market mood.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

AUD/USD struggles to recover as hawkish Fed bets escalate

The Australian Dollar is under pressure against the US Dollar as traders have raised bets supporting interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year, with the AUD/USD pair posting a fresh almost eight-week low at around 0.7025. Hawkish Fed bets have accelerated following the release of the surprisingly strong United States Nonfarm Payroll (NFP) data for May.

USD/JPY holds higher ground toward 160.50 despite 'Yentervention' fears

USD/JPY holds higher ground toward 160.50 in Monday's Asian trading, despite intervention fears. Japan’s revised GDP print, which confirmed that the economy lost momentum in the first quarter, weighs on the Japanese Yen. Meanwhile, Friday's upbeat US NFP report and fresh Israel-Iran attacks favor the US Dollar bulls, underpinning the currency pair.

Gold faces initial resistance near $4,350

Gold manages to reclaim the $4,300 mark per troy ounce and above on Monday. The yellow metal’s small uptick comes on the back of modest losses in the US Dollar, while traders continue to follow geopolitical events in the Middle East and the likelihood of a tighter-for-longer Fed.

Solana: ETF outflows and bearish sentiment reinforce downside risks

Solana (SOL) remains under pressure, trading below $66 on Monday after losing nearly 20% in the previous week. Institutional demand weakened with spot Exchange Traded Funds recording a net outflow of over $6.5 million last week, snapping a four-week streak of inflows.

$1.75 trillion: Is SpaceX the most popular IPO in history, or the most engineered?

On June 12, the largest initial public offering (IPO) in history is set to hit the tape, and almost nobody is asking whether the price is right, because almost everybody already wants in.

The US economy defies the rules: 100 days into the Oil shock and the recession signal is still missing

More than three months after the start of the Iran war and the resulting disruption to global energy markets, the US economy continues to display remarkable resilience. The conflict has triggered a sharp rise in Oil prices, reignited inflationary pressures and fueled widespread concerns about a potential economic slowdown.