China avoided a recession after its economy grew by 3.2 per cent in the second quarter of 2020, indicating a recovery from the damage caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The world’s second largest economy had shrank by 6.8 per cent in the first three months of the year, the first contraction since the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976. The median forecast of analysts polled by Bloomberg had predicted growth of 2.4 per cent in the second quarter. A technical recession is defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction in gross domestic product. {chart} The data confirmed that China will be probably the first ... (full story)

Judging by the Chinese stock market, Chinese credit impulse data, and Chinese PMIs, tonight's GDP data should be a big winning rebound proving the communist nation has overcome the viral enemy and is back on its path to global economic domination. {chart} The "v-shaped" recovery in all the PMIs is rather impressively well managed... {chart} And Total Social Financing is soaring at a record pace... {chart} And while trade data rebounded surprisingly in June (as it stepped up efforts to meet the terms of the U.S. trade deal), it remains well down from 2019 in the first six months of 2020, but rebounds are expected ... (full story)