Economic news from China today beat expectations in a positive way. Especially surprising was the growth of retail sales as the market set quite low expectations on the figure. Restrictions on mobility inside the country during the Lunar New Year, which were supposed to contain growth in retail consumption and social distancing measures introduced to combat Covid outbreak, unexpectedly had less effect on retail consumption. Positive news should help the PBOC to slow down or pause easing of monetary policy.Retail sales grew by 6.7% in February against the forecast of 3%. Industrial production rose by 7.5%, almost doubling the forecast. Investments in fixed assets more than doubled the forecast and amounted to 12.5%. The yuan strengthened slightly against the dollar.Global markets seem to be pricing in reduced level of risks of further escalation of the Ukraine conflict, oil has collapsed (down by 8% on the main benchmarks), gold declined 1.33%. Over the week, gold prices fell by 6%, oil by 23%.The geopolitical premium in dollar is correspondingly reduced, EUR and GBP win back losses. Looking ahead to the end of the week, the main focus is tomorrow’s Fed meeting. A 25 bp rate move seems to be warranted, shifts in expectations will primarily depend on hints about May decision (25 or 50 bp rate hike).There is some positive momentum in the Russian ruble, however, due to capital controls and trade blockades, even a normally liquid market such as the foreign exchange market is now extremely illiquid in Russia. The market is trying to take into account the optimism before the upcoming talks between Ukraine and Russia, which are expected to take place today.The leading indicator of risk aversion/risk-taking right now may be evolution of the covid situation in China. Major cities such as Shanghai and Shenzhen are experiencing a partial lockdown. It should be noted that the outbreak occurred in the northern part of China, where more heavy industry is concentrated. The measures introduced lead to suspension of production and shipment of goods. Attention is also drawn to the news about the new strain VA.2, which, according to preliminary data, is more severe than Omicron. Examples from the recent past show that when news about a new strain reaches critical mass (detection in several countries), markets lose their temper, so to speak, and go into risk-off.This is how the dynamics of reported cases of Covid in China looks now:The release of PPI in the US is scheduled for today, which will provide more information about price pressures in production chains and may also slightly correct expectations for tomorrow’s Fed meeting. The indicator is expected to print at 0.9%. Later, ECB President Christine Lagarde will speak, who may give more information about how the ECB is going to deal with the consequences of the impact of trade sanctions on the Russian Federation.
Source: Tickmill
