MNI China Daily Summary: Tuesday, October 15
POLICY: Iron ore prices have potential to rise further this month as Chinese mills restart furnaces and increase pig iron production, analysts at Shanghai Metals Market, a commodity research firm.
LIQUIDITY: The People's Bank of China (PBOC) conducted CNY68.3 billion via 7-day reverse repos, with the rate unchanged at 1.50%. The operation led to a net injection of CNY26.6 after offsetting the maturity of CNY41.7 billion today, according to Wind Information.
RATES: The seven-day weighted average interbank repo rate for depository institutions (DR007) fell to 1.5736% from the previous 1.6141%, Wind Information showed. The overnight repo average increased to 1.4157% from 1.4113%.
YUAN: The currency weakened to 7.1147 against the dollar from the previous 7.0795. The PBOC set the dollar-yuan central parity rate higher at 7.0830, compared with 7.0723 set on Monday. The fixing was estimated at 7.0830 by Bloomberg survey today.
BONDS: The yield on 10-year China Government Bonds was last at 2.1090%, down from the close of 2.1275% previously, according to chinamoney.com.cn.
STOCKS: The Shanghai Composite Index was down 2.53% to 3,201.29, while the CSI300 index fell 2.66% to 3,855.99. The Hang Seng Index lost 3.67% at 20,318.79.
FROM THE PRESS: Analysts remain unclear whether China will address the budget gap caused by lower-than-expected revenue by issuing additional treasuries in Q4, or alternatively tapping unused local debt limits, revitalising state-owned assets and using a budget stabilisation fund, 21st Century Business Herald reported. China’s gap in general public budget revenue stands at about CNY1.2 trillion, while the gap in the government fund budget revenue was about CNY1.5 trillion, the newspaper said, citing estimations by Yuan Haixia, executive director at China Chengxin International Research Institute. The country’s finance minister said at a recent press conference authorities can achieve a balance and meet the annual budget target by taking comprehensive measures.
China needs to maintain a deficit rate of around 4% and issue ultra-long-term special government bonds of CNY10 trillion over five years to address deflationary pressure, according to Lian Ping, chairman at the China Chief Economist Forum. The government should use funds to increase the construction of public infrastructure and affordable housing in large cities, Lian added. Central to local government transfer payments should be used to enhance social security for rural migrants, and fiscal resources are needed to assist debt reduction in sectors with declining balance sheets. (Source: Yicai)
China’s exports are likely to maintain moderate growth going forwards as global monetary easing and the consumption peak season supports demand from developed economies, according to Zhou Maohua, macro researcher at Everbright Bank. A global consumer electronics recovery will support overseas sales of new energy and high-tech equipment, Zhou added. The export volume in September was the third highest on record for the same period in U.S. dollar terms, with volumes in Q3 hitting a record high, showing export operations were stable and resilient, Zhou noted.