FX.co ★ Chinese economic activity slows further

Chinese industrial production grew by 6% on a yearly basis in July compared to a rise by 6.2% in June. The country’s fixed-asset investments rose by 8.1% between January and July 2016, down from 9% in the January-June period.
“The Chinese economy is definitely on the downward trend. That hasn't changed,” said Ma Xiaoping, an economist at HSBC. This is seen in the weakening of demand on the domestic and foreign markets
Investors are full of concerns about China's economic prospects. July’s snapshot of China’s economy shows how broad the slowdown is. Growth in private investment, which accounts for around 60% of China’s total fixed-asset investment, slowed to 2.1%.
Officials and economists believe that China is falling into a liquidity trap with companies accumulating money instead of investing it. Some firms are unwilling to expand their businesses due to the economic slowdown. Retail sales in China are also weakening. Sales rose by 10.2% year-on-year in July of 2016, compared to a 10.6% increase in June.
Chinese commercial banks extended 463.6 billion yuan ($69.9 billion) in net new loans in July, from the previous month’s lending of 1.38 trillion yuan ($208 billion), data released by the PBOC showed.
The Chinese government took a variety of stimulus measures, from revving up lending to increasing infrastructure investment, but they have not yielded the desired result.