China trade numbers for April came in under expectations
Link to data post is here
Via Bloomberg come this:
"Exports, once regarded as a stabilizer for growth this year, are now becoming a downside risk," said Li Wei, the China and Asia economist for Commonwealth Bank of Australia in Sydney. "The government has to do more to help growth."
And, via Reuters ... Tim Condon, economist in Singapore at ING (bolding mine):
"I expect a rate cut this weekend. This is bad. This is going to make 7 percent (GDP) growth hard to attain. It looks like the weakness in the first quarter wasn't transitory. It's persistent. The consensus would be to mark down the forecast (for trade). As the authorities mark down their forecast, they would be asking what they can do to fix that, and I think a rate cut is the answer - better soon rather than later."
