China December industrial output +6.8% y/y (exp +6.6%) Retail Sales +7.4% (exp +8.0%)

<p>China's economic 'activity' data for December 2023</p><p>Misses for retail sales and industrial output. </p><p>Investment came in better than (low) expectations:</p><ul><li>private sector fixed asset investment was -0.4% y/y while investment in infrastructure propped numbers up with +5.9% y/y</li></ul><p>More:</p><p>Urban Unemployment Rate 5.1% </p><ul><li>vs prior 5.0%</li></ul><p>2023 property investment dropped 9.6% y/y</p><p>For the energy traders, further confirmation of a bounce in demand from China, 2023 refinery output hit a record high, with fuel deamdn cited.</p><p>—</p><p>Not great data, not terrible data. GDP came in as expected, around target for the year. There are always doubts about the veracity of Chinese economic data, especially for the GDP as it very, very rarely misses. Analsyts are alreading turning to 2024, saying hitting 5% again will be very difficult without substantial stimulus. We'll see. </p>

This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.