China is expected to report solid growth in January trade this week, moderating inflation and resurgent bank lending, but the timing of the long Lunar New Year holidays will make it difficult to determine clear trends in the world’s second-largest economy for at least another month.
Business surveys suggest a resilient start to 2018, with further expansion in manufacturing and robust growth in services. But most economists still expect a gradual loss of momentum in coming months as borrowing costs rise and the property market cools.
In coming weeks China will release foreign exchange reserves, trade, inflation and bank lending data for January, but it will not report combined January and February data for industrial output, retail sales and investment until March in a bid to smooth out seasonal distortions.
