IMF: China’s government should spend more to support economy

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

In order to counter the impact of coronavirus lockdowns and a property sector downturn on the economy, China’s government should ramp up fiscal spending, the International Monetary Fund (MF) said in its annual report on the country’s economy.

Key takeaways

The economic recovery “lacks balance and momentum has slowed, reflecting the rapid withdrawal of fiscal support, lagging consumption amid recurrent COVID-19 outbreaks despite a successful vaccination campaign, and slowing real-estate investment.”

“The combination of more frequent outbreaks and a zero-Covid tolerance approach has forced China’s economic activity into a stop-and-go pattern” and this could “further delay the recovery in private demand.”

“The IMF has no reason to expect that coronavirus outbreaks will become any less frequent this year.”

“This is one of the big reasons we have lowered our forecast for the year.”

“The government should prioritize spending on “targeted direct income support” instead of infrastructure investment.”

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.

EUR/USD keeps the rangebound trade near 1.1850

EUR/USD is still under pressure, drifting back towards the 1.1850 area as Monday’s session draws to a close. The modest decline in spot comes as the US Dollar picks up a bit of support, while thin liquidity and muted volatility, thanks to the US market holiday, are exaggerating price swings and keeping trading conditions choppy.

GBP/USD flirts with daily lows near 1.3630

GBP/USD has quickly given back Friday’s solid gains, turning lower at the start of the week and drifting back towards the 1.3630 area. The focus now shifts squarely to Tuesday’s UK labour market report, which is likely to keep the quid firmly in the spotlight and could set the tone for Cable’s next move.

Gold sticks to a negative bias below $5,000; lacks bearish conviction

Gold remains depressed for the second consecutive day and trades below the $5,000 psychological mark during the Asian session on Tuesday, as a positive risk tone is seen undermining safe-haven assets. Meanwhile, bets for more interest rate cuts by the Fed keep a lid on the recent US Dollar bounce and act as a tailwind for the non-yielding bullion, warranting caution for bearish traders ahead of FOMC minutes on Wednesday.

AI Crypto Update: Bittensor eyes breakout as AI tokens falter

The artificial intelligence (AI) cryptocurrency segment is witnessing heightened volatility, with top tokens such as Near Protocol (NEAR) struggling to gain traction amid the persistent decline in January and February.

US CPI is cooling but what about inflation?

The January CPI data give the impression that the Federal Reserve is finally winning the war against inflation. Not only was the data cooler than expected, but it’s also beginning to edge close to the mystical 2 percent target. CBS News called it “the best inflation news we've had in months.”

XRP steadies in narrow range as fund inflows, futures interest rise

Ripple is trading in a narrow range between $1.45 (immediate support) and $1.50 (resistance) at the time of writing on Monday. The remittance token extended its recovery last week, peaking at $1.67 on Sunday from the weekly open at $1.43.