China data released on Friday (from China’s National Energy Administration):
- December’s power consumption rose at 10.5% compared with November
- The highest volume since August last year
- The fastest pace of month-on-month growth in at least a year
But, say analysts, the year-on-year growth numbers don’t suggest a significant improvement:
- In December, China’s electricity consumption rose 4.7% y/y (according to China Real Time’s calculations) … “higher than every preceding month since June, but only restores the sector’s pace of growth to the same levels as in the first half of this year, when growth was still relatively anemic”
- Consumption for the full year rose just 3.8% from a year earlier – half the pace of last year’s growth
Analysts also say there may be other reasons for the unusual surge:
- The government shut down large numbers of factories in areas around Beijing in November … for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation … factories restarting their production in December would be striving to catch up on all the lost volume
- Also, electric heating systems kicking into gear as winter set in
