Does China’s Consumer Confidence Signal Better Conditions?

According to a report provided by the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the consumer confidence index for China stood at 114.7 in August 2017 compared to 114.6 in July. It met the market expectation.

The consumer confidence index has been improving gradually since September 2016. The index measures the current economic condition, future expectations, and consumers’ level of satisfaction.

In every economy, consumers play an important role. The rise in consumer activity generally indicates a better economic condition. China’s (MCHI) (ASHR) economy has depended largely on manufacturing and exports in past years. However, in the present environment, the sentiment is changing.

The economy (FXI) (YINN) is showing a transition from a manufacturing hub to a service-based economy. From an export-oriented economy, it’s transitioning to a consumption-based economy. Gradual improvement in the consumer confidence index is signaling that consumers could be optimistic about the future economic outlook.

The iShares China Large-Cap (FXI) and the Direxion Daily FTSE China Bull 3X ETF (YINN), which tracks the performance of China, rose 4.0% and 11.0%, respectively, in August 2017.

In the next part of this series, we’ll look at the performance of the Shanghai Composite Index.