China seen posting strong Feb exports data

A raft of Chinese economic data in the next few weeks is expected to show growth was mostly stable at the start of 2018 as exports picked up and factory activity remained largely resilient despite tougher air pollution measures.

Business surveys last week gave a mixed picture about the health of the world’s second-largest economy in February. But analysts cautioned that the timing of the weeks-long lunar new year holidays, which fell in mid-February this year, will have distorted trends as usual and said investors may not get a clearer picture of China’s economic health until first-quarter data is released in April.

Premier Li Keqiang kicked off annual parliament meetings on Monday by saying that China aims to expand its economy by around 6.5 percent this year. That is the same target as in 2017, when actual growth came in at 6.9 percent.

Li also stressed that the government needs to take further steps to reduce risks in the financial system, which analysts believe will eventually take away some growth momentum by making banks more cautious about lending and pushing up borrowing costs.

February foreign exchange reserves data is set to be published on Wednesday, followed by trade data on Thursday and inflation on Friday. Bank lending and money supply data will be released anytime between Saturday and March 15.

In an attempt to iron out lunar new year distortions, China will announce combined January and February data for industrial output, fixed-asset investment and retail sales on March 14.