China postpones routine releases of economic data

Although China Customs was scheduled to release its foreign trade figures last Friday (Oct. 14), and the China National Statistics Bureau was supposed to release its headline macroeconomic indicators (including GDP) on Tuesday (Oct. 18), both agencies balked at the last minute on publishing their data. Neither has announced future publication dates nor any reason for the postponement. However, the delays are clearly linked to the ongoing party congress. The latest GDP growth figure is expected to be well below China’s official target. This provides an obvious political basis for the postponement, but the issue could also be technical. Most observers expect that the figures will be released next week after the congress adjourns. The postponing of routine data releases is highly exceptional for China.