November economic data pause for thought

Shanghai stocks closed yesterday generally flat as investors digested a fresh set of economic data, including inflation and trade, for November.

The Shanghai Composite Index ended 0.05 percent higher at 2,238.20 points.

China's Consumer Price Index rose 3 percent from a year earlier in November, easing from a 3.2-percent gain in October, due to a fall in food prices, the National Bureau of Statistics said yesterday. The CPI has stayed above 3 percent for three months in a row.

Meanwhile the producer price index fell 1.4 percent annually and remained in a deflationary territory for the 21st straight month, and ''reflecting still difficult conditions among enterprises,'' said Lu Zhengwei, chief economist at Industrial Bank.

China's exports in November surged 12.7 percent annually, compared with October's gain of 5.6 percent and September's dip of 0.3 percent, data released by the General Administration of Customs on Sunday showed. Imports rose 5.3 percent, slowing from a 7.6 percent rise in October.

Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist at Credit Agricole Corporate and Investment Bank, yesterday forecast a modest slowdown in on-month and on-year growth rates of industrial output, retail sales and fixed asset investment as stimulus measures are eased.

Lenders slumped after the People's Bank of China allowed banks to trade certificates of deposit on the interbank market in a step to liberalize interest rates.

Shanghai Pudong Development Bank lost 1.1 percent to 10.11 yuan. China Minsheng Banking Corp shed 0.7 percent to end at 8.49 yuan.