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China: the economy is getting better but we maintain our GDP forecasts
From the activity data published by the National Bureau of Statistics, it is evident that the Chinese economy is recovering. Retail sales shrank less thanks to the long holiday in May Retail sales shrank 2.8%YoY in May from a contraction of 7.5%YoY the previous month. Almost all items recorded positive year-on-year growth in May. But there were exceptions, and most of them were related to Covid-19. Social distancing measures still caused an 18.9%YoY contraction in catering businesses. And, even though May is the month of a long holiday, discretionary spending on clothing (i.e. not for essential clothing), continued ... (full story)