China’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) grew by 4.5% year-over-year (YoY) in the third quarter (Q3), compared to 4.3% in the previous reading, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China on Monday. The market consensus was for a 4.4% growth in the reported period.
On a quarterly basis, Chinese economy expanded by 1.2% in Q3, up from a rise 0.9% in Q2, stronger than the market expectations of 1.1%.
Additionally, China’s Retail Sales rose 1.1 % YoY in September vs. a rise of 0.5% expected and a 0.4% growth in August. Industrial Production climbed 5.5% YoY in the same period, compared to the 5.4% forecast and 5.2% seen previously.
Market reaction
The China-proxy Australian Dollar (AUD) attracts some buyers following the upbeat Chinese data. At the time of writing, the AUD/USD pair is trading 0.36% higher on the day at 0.6971.
Australian Dollar Price Today
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the strongest against the Euro.
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Australian Dollar from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the US Dollar, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent AUD (base)/USD (quote).
GDP FAQs
A country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the rate of growth of its economy over a given period of time, usually a quarter. The most reliable figures are those that compare GDP to the previous quarter e.g Q2 of 2023 vs Q1 of 2023, or to the same period in the previous year, e.g Q2 of 2023 vs Q2 of 2022. Annualized quarterly GDP figures extrapolate the growth rate of the quarter as if it were constant for the rest of the year. These can be misleading, however, if temporary shocks impact growth in one quarter but are unlikely to last all year – such as happened in the first quarter of 2020 at the outbreak of the covid pandemic, when growth plummeted.
A higher GDP result is generally positive for a nation’s currency as it reflects a growing economy, which is more likely to produce goods and services that can be exported, as well as attracting higher foreign investment. By the same token, when GDP falls it is usually negative for the currency. When an economy grows people tend to spend more, which leads to inflation. The country’s central bank then has to put up interest rates to combat the inflation with the side effect of attracting more capital inflows from global investors, thus helping the local currency appreciate.
When an economy grows and GDP is rising, people tend to spend more which leads to inflation. The country’s central bank then has to put up interest rates to combat the inflation. Higher interest rates are negative for Gold because they increase the opportunity-cost of holding Gold versus placing the money in a cash deposit account. Therefore, a higher GDP growth rate is usually a bearish factor for Gold price.
Lallalit Srijandorn is a Parisian at heart. She has lived in France since 2019 and now becomes a digital entrepreneur based in Paris and Bangkok.
