China’s National Bureau of Statistics revealed that fourth-quarter GDP rose by 4% compared to the year-ago figures. It topped the 3.3% expected. For 2021, China economists were looking for average growth of 8.4%. Overall, China’s economy grew by 8.1% in 2021.
At the same time, industrial production rose by 4.3% in December. According to the bureau, “we must be aware that the external environment is more complicated and uncertain, and the domestic economy is under the triple pressure of demand contraction, supply shock and weakening expectations.”
Despite the recent GDP increase, Goldman Sachs cut the country’s forecast for 2022 based on expectations that the zero-Covid policy will cause increased restrictions on business activity.
At the moment of writing, USD/CNH was trading at 6.3517.
Sources: cnbc.com, forexfactory.com