Chinese Monetary Policy vs. Inflation FIGHT!

*FX data updated on March 27th 2008

Policy makers in China have not only continued their anti-inflationary rhetoric, but have started acting on it. We have seen the RMB reach several new highs verse the USD in recent days (7.01). Additionally, Chinese authorities have increased reserve requirements for the second time this year by 50bp to 15.50%. It does not appear this news has settled too well with Chinese equities markets, which have experienced a significant sell-off from the combined fears of tighter monetary policy, a stronger RMB, and possible global slowdown. As a result, local investors seeking more attractive yields have started moving away from EQ and into the domestic fixed income market; yields have rallied accordingly. We expect this trend to continue.

Fears of a global economic slowdown and tighter monetary conditions have begun to show up in the SSE Composite...

Source: Bloomberg

This was not unexpected, as we outlined in an early posting, this how we expect Chinese policy makers to combat high inflation levels:

1) The Central Bank will increase interest rates, which it hasn’t done since December 07;

2) They will allow the RMB to appreciate at a faster rate;

3) They will implement new or stronger policies to reduce monetary growth. (i.e. Higher reserve requirements).

Additionally, we believe the government will continue to enforce its recent price control measures. With that said it is highly likely the Chinese government will continue increasing reserve requirements and continue appreciating the RMB at a faster rate. Given the recent weakness of the USD, the RMB has weakened substantially against the Euro, which probably implies European officials will begin placing pressure on the Chinese officials for quicker appreciation. We also expect to see increases in the Chinese reference rate, the last increase occurred at the end of December.

The Chinese Reserve Requirement Ratio has been increased steadily with inflation, and will continue to rise...

Chinese officials will continue to speed up appreciation of the RMB to combat inflation...

Investment Idea: We see potential upside in the domestic Chinese Steel industry. We have seen an increase in domestic demand as the country continue to develop and we believe the industry is ripe for consolidation. We may actually see the amount of Chinese steel exports decrease this year due to increased local demand, higher export tariffs, and an appreciating RMB. A reduction in Chinese steel exports could put upward pricing pressures on the global market. We also expect domestic steel makers to increase domestic prices as international prices rise. In fact, Baosteel has already announced price increases and may adjust prices on a monthly basis vs. quarterly previously. This of course will put further pressure on Chinese inflation. Which means it will be important to monitor to what degree government officials allow steel producers to pass costs to consumers. However, for steel, we see plenty of demand and a sticky supply. The bottom line is in 2008 look for higher steel prices, industry consolidation, and fewer exports from China (reducing the global supply). We believe this should directly benefit Brazil (ETF:EWZ), especially domestic iron ore producers. Brazil’s largest exports to China are soybeans and iron ore. However, there is a risk that a global economic slowdown could adversely affect steel demand.

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Chinese Inflation: A Mounting Problem (Update)

The US isn’t alone when it comes to inflationary concerns. Chinese consumer prices continue setting new interim highs, and it is not going unnoticed. February's CPI number came in at 8.7%y/y vs. 7.1%y/y in January. It is important to keep in mind this reading includes the adverse effects of severe winter weather and the Chinese New Year holiday. However, even after these events are factored out the reading remains well above comfortable levels (prices have been trending up since early 2007 from a level of around 1.4%y/y). The data has begun to raise a lot of eyebrows within the Chinese government. Recently, Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao was quoted as saying, “The current price hikes and increasing inflationary pressures are the biggest concern of the people.” So what does it mean?

Inflation continues trending up; as one response we expect policy makers to speed up the appreciation of the RMB

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China & People's Bank of China

We believe Chinese policy makers will address the rising trend in inflation using the following three policy tools: 1) The Central Bank will increase interest rates, which it hasn’t done since December 07; 2) they will allow the RMB to appreciate at a faster rate; & 3) they will implement new or stronger policies to reduce monetary growth. We also expect the government imposed price controls will remain in place for the foreseeable future. When push comes to shove we feel Chinese policy makers will choose price stability over growth. As we discussed in our last entry on this topic, from February 29^th, food prices have been the primary driver behind Chinese inflation, but recently inflationary signs have started to emerge from the non-food sectors. The longer inflation remains elevated the bigger its effect on inflation expectations. In fact, according to a quarterly survey conducted by the People's Bank of China, inflation expectations have already begun to rise (chart below). This could be bad news for policy makers since a rise in inflation expectations tends to be a self-fulfilling prophecy.

*According to a survey conducted by the People's Bank of China consumers inflation expectations have been increasing significantly with the rise in CPI

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of China & People's Bank of China

*Notes on the Survey of Urban Saving Account Holders (From the People's Bank of China)- The People�s Bank of China conduct a quarterly sampling survey to urban saving account holders nationwide in the form of standardized questionnaire and interview in February, May,August, November each year. The sample size for each survey is 20,000. 4 diffusion indices are derived from the replies of interviewees in questionnaire survey, which reflect the attitudes of people towards current income and price conditions, and the expectations to future income and price trends.

Chinese Inflation: A Mounting Problem

I was asked my views on the Chinese inflation situation today and came up with this short piece:

The Chinese growth story is now sharing the spotlight with the country’s mounting inflation concerns. In January consumer prices rose 7.1%y/y; to a level not seen since 1996, a point when China was in the midst of recovering from levels around 20%y/y. Moreover, based on the current outlook February’s reading is not expected to show any signs of improvement. Starting late January and ending in February China faced a barrage of disastrous winter weather, affecting nearly every aspect of the economy, including crops. This is particularly relevant given that food prices have been the main cause of Chinese inflation, increasing an astonishing 18.2%y/y in January. Important to keep in mind is that January’s reading includes only a small portion of the storm’s total effect, which will be fully reflected in February’s release.

Drilling a bit deeper into China’s inflation problem we look at some of the reasons for the increase in food prices. In part this trend can be attributed to China’s economic success; Chinese economic growth has led to an increase in wealth among its population. With more money to spend Chinese citizens tastes began to shift, in the food sector this meant instead of having vegetables for dinner they preferred meat, especially pork. Since demand for these ‘new’ products are rising faster than they can be supplied, prices are going up. Despite the simplicity of this explanation it could have a significant effect on the Chinese economy. Take this scenario into account; if you expect dinner is going to cost more next month than it did today you are going to ask for better wages to make up the difference. With this in mind inflation expectations have a direct correlation with future inflation based on this principle. Currently, we believe this scenario may already be occurring. Price increases are now showing up in sectors other than food, including services, producer prices, and other non-food products. The increase in service prices could very well imply we are already seeing an increase in the cost of labor due to rising inflation expectations. This scenario will have to be watched closely by Chinese policy makers.

Curtailing the inflation problem will be a tough challenge for Chinese leaders, especially given an increase to inflation expectations. In a more traditional scenario, the solution would simply be a combination of tight monetary policy and conservative fiscal policies. However, a number of problems including reconstruction plans from the winter storms, ‘quasi’ pegged exchange rate, and liquidity factors add up to a unique challenge. Reducing government spending at a time when a large portion of the country’s infrastructure needs to be repaired is not feasible. Additionally, further appreciation of the RMB could reduce exporters’ price advantages to overseas competitors and may reduce Chinese market share lowering economic growth. Finally, increasing rates could make it harder for businesses to borrow within China during a time of industry consolidation; potentially adversely affecting growth. A likely outcome will come by finding a balance between tighter monetary policy and further appreciation in the RMB.