Chinese data for December is out and is a mess. The headline numbers were fine owing to resumptions in output after recent energy-related shutdowns. Q4 GDP was a respectable 1.6% to deliver a lousy 4% over the year:
Growth internals were mixed for the month of December. Industrial production was decent year on year at 4.3%, fixed-asset investment 4.9% but retail sales were weak at 1.7%.
However, the all-important property segment is where the action is and it is downright ugly. New property starts were down 31% year on year:
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