China’s Data Disappointed - 11.5.2012

Asian stocks slid lower during the morning trading session, as well as risk sensitive currencies. The Australian dollar touched a new 5-month low versus the dollar (1.0018) as China reported a number of disappointing macroeconomic figures: industrial production grew last month at the lowest pace since 2009, retail sales increased less than expected and inflation decelerated. In annual figures the volume of industrial production grew by 9.3%, compared with a 11.9% gain in March. Retail sales growth decreased from 15.1% to 14.1% and inflation dropped from 3.6% to 3.4%, while producer price index even fell by 0.7% annualized.