MNI China Daily Summary: Thursday, March 13
POLICY: Authorities will aim to improve China’s airport customs clearance services, policy guidelines released by the General Administration of Customs showed.
POLICY: China’s Consumer Satisfaction Evaluation Report reached 80.36 points in 2024, up 0.44 points from the previous year, according to the China Consumers' Association.
POLICY: China has communicated with relevant departments in the U.S. government regarding trade issues, said He Yongqian, spokesperson for the Ministry of Commerce, at a press conference, adding that Beijing hopes to work with Washington in the spirit of mutual respect.
LIQUIDITY: The PBOC conducted CNY35.9 billion via 7-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.50%. The operation led to a net drain of CNY68.6 billion after offsetting the maturity of CNY104.5 billion today, according to Wind Information.
RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) fell to 1.8004% on Thursday from 1.8047% previously, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average increased to 1.7711% from the previous 1.7565%.
YUAN: The currency strengthened to 7.2427 against the dollar, from 7.2445 at Wednesday's close. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate higher at 7.1728, compared with 7.1696 set on Wednesday. The fixing was estimated at 7.2433 by Bloomberg survey today.
BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 1.8300%, down from Wednesday's close of 1.8500%, according to Wind Information.
STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index fell 0.39% to 3,358.73, while the CSI300 index down 0.40% to 3,911.58. The Hang Seng Index dropped 0.58% to 23,462.65.
FROM THE PRESS: China’s Small and Medium Sized Enterprise Index rebounded to 89.8 in February, up 0.8 points from January, reflecting increased demand and investment willingness, according to Liu Xiangdong, deputy director at the China International Economic Exchange Center. SMEs have boosted expectations and confidence after the implementation of positive macroeconomic policies, Liu added. Ma Bin, executive vice president at the China Association of SMEs, said firms’ operation and production accelerated after the Spring Festival. (Source: Securities Daily)
China’s export container market remained low during the past week as volumes increased less than expected after Chinese New Year, Yicai reported, citing a recent Shanghai Shipping Exchange report. The Shanghai Export Container Comprehensive Freight Index reached 1436 points, marking eight weeks of consecutive decline and down 42.7% since Jan 3. Faced with tariff pressure, U.S. volumes dropped as more exporters targeted the European market, a logistics industry insider said, noting European demand may not be able to accommodate the influx.
China’s Guangdong province saw exports reach CNY855 billion during January and February, a decrease of 4.3% y/y, with imports totalling CNY490 billion, down 6.1% y/y, 21st Century Business Herald said. The province's foreign trade accounted for 20.6% of total national foreign trade, an increase of 0.1 percentage points, the paper noted. Shipments of mechanical and electrical products amounted to CNY572 billion, an increase of 1.5% y/y, offset by a 21.4% fall in labour-intensive products such as textiles, clothing and bags.