The big story on the screens this morning comes to us from China where inflation has reached a 16 month high. These dramatic headlines have sent currency investors heading back to the Japanese yen and US$ as many of these stories suggest the Chinese will be stepping in to slow the Chinese economy. But if you look beyond the ‘16 month high’ headlines, you will find that consumer prices rose just 2.7% in February from a year earlier, and increase yes, but hardly the stuff of a ‘bubble economy’. Premier Wen Jiabo has stated a goal of keeping inflation around 3%, so the inflation number is still below his goal. And the Chinese have already started pulling liquidity out of the Chinese banking system with increases in the reserve requirements and internal interest rates.
Traders Fear Chinese ‘Bubbles’
The big story on the screens this morning comes to us from China where inflation has reached a 16 month high. These dramatic headlines have sent currency investors heading back to the Japanese yen and US$ as many of these stories suggest the Chinese will be stepping in to slow the Chinese economy. But if you look beyond the ‘16 month high’ headlines, you will find that consumer prices rose just 2.7% in February from a year earlier, and increase yes, but hardly the stuff of a ‘bubble economy’. Premier Wen Jiabo has stated a goal of keeping inflation around 3%, so the inflation number is still below his goal. And the Chinese have already started pulling liquidity out of the Chinese banking system with increases in the reserve requirements and internal interest rates.
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