The big news from China is the huge miss on the trade balance.

The AUD/USD is getting smashed on the data, down 50+ points since the data

  • Waiting on the USD terms, but in yuan terms a substantial narrowing to 18.1bn (expected is 250bn, prior was 350.5bn)
  • Exports -14.6% y/y (yuan terms)
  • Imports -12.3% y/y (yuan terms)

... But, back to the World Bank's East Asia Pacific Economic Update:

  • China needs to roll out more targeted stimulus measures if the government is to counter short-term economic risks
  • Said China's economy is likely to slow to 7.1percent in 2015 and 7.0 percent in 2016, from 7.4 percent in 2014
  • The previous forecast was for growth of 7.2 percent in 2015 and 7.1 percent in 2016
  • "Stimulus measures aimed at supporting short-term growth may conflict with efforts to increase the sustainability of medium-term growth. A narrowly targeted stimulus may ameliorate the trade-off, but will also prove more challenging to implement"

More:

  • Impact of low oil prices will vary from country to country
  • But the prospect of a sustained period of low oil costs will help underpin growth in the region, as will an expected improvement in high-income economies
  • However, due to uncertainties in the global economy, there are "significant risks" to the regional outlook
  • "Higher U.S. interest rates and an appreciating U.S. dollar,associated with monetary policy divergence across the advanced economies may raise borrowing costs, generate financial volatility, and reduce capital inflows more sharply than anticipated"
  • Another risk is a significant slowdown in China, although that is unlikely since the world's second-biggest economy enjoys policy buffers including large foreign reserves, and ample fiscal room to deploy stimulus or bail out debtors
  • Growth in developing East Asia and Pacific excluding China is expected to accelerate to 5.1 percent in 2015 and 5.4 percent in 2016, from 4.6 percent in 2014
  • Malaysia, the region's largest oil-exporter, is likely to see growth slow in 2015, as low oil prices hit capital spending in the energy sector and private consumption cools due to the implementation of the goods and services tax in April