China Delays Q3 GDP Data Release

(RTTNews) - China delayed the publication of its third quarter GDP data on Monday without providing any explanation for the postponement as the release coincided with the 20th party conference of the ruling Communist Party.

The publication was initially scheduled to be released on Tuesday. The quarterly GDP data along with other major economic indicators were marked as "delayed" on the website of the National Bureau of Statistics on Monday.

The economy was expected to expand at 3.4 percent in the third quarter faster than the modest increase of 0.4 percent in the second quarter. Nonetheless, the expected growth is well below Beijing's growth target of 'around 5.5 percent' for the whole year. The International Monetary Fund last week projected China's economy to grow 3.2 percent this year, and slashed the forecast for next year to 4.4 percent.

The property sector downturn and zero-covid policy have held back China's economic growth so far this year. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China has emphasized on the advancement of technology and its role on economic development. At the conference, Zhao Chenxin, deputy director of the National Development and Reform Commission, reportedly said the economy logged a notable trend of recovery in the third quarter.

Capital Economics economist Julian Evans-Pritchard observed that President Xi Jinping's Party Work Report signaled a further shift away from market-based reforms in favor of a state-led campaign to increase self-sufficiency and economic security.

Investors should also be wary of the growing focus on regulating and redistributing income and wealth, the economist noted.

Iris Pang, an economist at ING, said the fiscal deficit will continue to increase due to low revenue from land sales for this year and next. Xi's report also indicated that the Chinese government is going to issue more bonds to support its growth plan. Though the fiscal health of the government is still in good shape, the increasing demand for fiscal spending and investments means that fiscal pressure is increasing, even if it is not imminent, the economist added.

The People's Bank of China added CNY 500 billion into the financial system on Monday, through one-year medium-term lending facility.

The rate on the MLF was kept unchanged at 2.75 percent. The MLF rate acts as a guide to the loan prime rate, which is set to be fixed on October 20.

The bank also conducted CNY 2 billion seven-day reverse repo at an interest rate of 2.00 percent.