China’s economic growth likely moderated in Q1 2016, services sector a key growth driver

China’s economic growth is likely to have moderated to 6.5% in Q1 2016, according to ANZ. In January and February of 2016, activities continued to be slow; however, there are signs of stabilization seen in March, noted ANZ. As investments have slowed on an annual basis, the Chinese economic growth is expected to have been mainly driven by the services sector.

Even though the turnover in stock market might have decelerated after the volatilities seen in stock market since mid-2015 and early 2016, the recent sharp increase in property transactions might counter the deceleration in stock market, added ANZ. Attention needs to be given to the breakdown of GDP growth by sector to identify the main drivers of growth in the first quarter and if they will be sustained in the remainder of 2016, said ANZ.