The cruelest month was actually one of the kindest this year. Economic data, not least from Asia, were sufficiently perky to trigger talk of V-shaped recoveries. Industrial production came blasting back and declines in exports were less precipitous, as inventories were already pared. So what went wrong in May?
The data dump for last month began on Monday, and at face value offered little to inspire. China's official purchasing managers' index dipped lower month-on-month. Exports from Korea, a bellwether for the region, plunged 28 per cent year on year; worse than expected and a far steeper decline than April's 19 per cent. Even Thailand threw some nasty consumer price inflation, or rather deflation, into the mix. Asian markets, determined to see the glass half full, jumped higher on Monday. Fair enough. The most important data point, of Chinese PMI, remained above the 50 level, hence showing expansion. And May historically yields a lower reading than April, so a very slight drop can be construed as positive.
The backdrop in China remains unchanged. This is an economy super-charged by a government with the cash and clout to do so. Fixed asset investment, representing over 40 per cent of economic output, is surging even as exports decline; Goldman Sachs estimates about half of that growth is linked to government spending. But as Monday's figures demonstrate, Beijing (like other governments) will have to stay in the driving seat for a while yet. Throughput at China's two biggest container terminals, which handle half the country's overseas trade, was down 15-20 per cent in May, year on year, according to Citigroup, and flat on April. Korean exports tell a similar story: in the first 20 days of May Chinese shipments fell 21 per cent year on year, only marginally less than in April.