China reported data for July that came in well below expectations. Retail sales grew by 2.7% in July from a year ago, the National Bureau of Statistics said Monday. That’s well below the 5% growth forecast by a Reuters poll, and down from growth of 3.1% in June. Industrial production rose by 3.8%, also missing expectations for 4.6% growth and a drop from the prior month’s 3.9% increase. Fixed asset investment for the first seven months of the year rose by 5.7% from a year ago, missing expectations for 6.2% growth. Investment into real estate fell at a faster pace in July than June, while investment into manufacturing ... (full story)

In July, faced with increasingly complicated and challenging international environment as well as frequent and sporadic domestic outbreaks of Covid-19 pandemic, under the strong leadership of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, all regions and departments adhered to the general principle of pursuing progress while maintaining stability, conscientiously implemented the decisions and arrangements made by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council, effectively coordinated the Covid-19 prevention and control and the economic and social development, and ... (full story)

AUD/USD retreats towards 0.7100, down 0.08% intraday around 0.7120 by the press time, as China’s softer-than-expected data dump joins the cautious mood in the market during Monday’s Asian session. The Aussie pair’s struggle could also be linked to the anxiety ahead of the Minutes of the latest monetary policy meeting from the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) and the Federal Reserve (Fed). China’s Retail Sales eased to 2.7% versus 5.0% expected and 3.1% prior whereas Industrial Production (IP) edged lower to 3.8% from 3.9% prior and 4.6% market forecasts. Earlier in the day, the People’s Bank of China (PBOC) cut the ... (full story)