Via a Goldman Sachs note Tuesday afternoon US time.
Analysts at GS upgraded their forecast for China’s gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2023 following yesterday's better-than-expected data:
- China Q4 GDP 0.0% q/q (expected -0.8)
- China December economic activity data beats across all 3 indicators
- China says its 2022 GDP growth was 3% - analyst response is: Nope, much lower
- ING on China: "Big beat in December activity data ... revising our GDP forecast higher"
GS said its “very surprising” that the official data for December were so good given the explosion in COVID cases and extensive worker absences in December. One-off demand for medicines and medical equipment may have helped to boost Q4 GDP say the analysts. the noted further that this is likely not enough to explain the discrepancies between the official figures and slower high-frequency activity indicators though.
