In this briefing:
1. China’s Nominal Vs. Real GDP – Accelerated Growth
When China’s fourth quarter GDP numbers were released in January, predictably, Bloomberg led with “China posts weakest growth since 2009” headline. The fact that the number was still 6.4% YoY, good by almost all standards, was given little attention. Being fickle, we immediately turned to the nominal GDP series – which the media continue to ignore completely – only to find that, on a quarterly annualised basis, the fourth quarter marked an acceleration in growth, from 8.5% annualised in 3Q18 to 9.3% annualised in 4Q18 (YoY it dipped to 9.2% from 9.5% in the third quarter).
2. FLASH: UK GDP Shrinkage Shock in Dec-18
- UK monthly GDP disappointed all expectations by falling 0.4% m-o-m in Dec-18, which trimmed 4Q18 to 0.2% q-o-q. IP weighed most, mainly owing to ongoing car manufacturing issues, but was not the source of surprise.
- Services remained resilient overall in the PMI-comparable areas with 0.55% q-o-q growth. Government and non-retail distributive trades were weaker, though.
- Construction’s 2.8% contraction caused most of the surprise. Repairs and new private housing were weakest, and both are prone to positive payback. However, 1Q18 GDP growth is now tracking a low 0.3% q-o-q, in my view.
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