(MB) Base metals prices on the Shanghai Futures Exchange were mixed during the morning trading session on Thursday March 14, with lackluster Chinese data released earlier in the day failing to inspire a meaningful move in either direction for the complex. Data released by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) at around 10am Shanghai time on Thursday showed the country’s economy slowed further in the first two months of 2019 after growth of industrial production fell to 5.3% in January-February, down from 5.7% in the same period a year ago. It was also below the expected gain of 5.5%.China combines January and February activity data to smooth seasonal distortions that may be caused by the long Lunar New Year holidays early each year.Growth in China’s fixed asset investment quickened to 6.1% for the first two months of 2019, in line with analysts’ forecasts and up from 5.9% previously. Retail sales were marginally better than expected with a year-on-year rise of 8.2% in January-February – forecasts had been for an 8.1% increase.“All eyes will be on the Chinese economic data released today for any signs of rebound in domestic growth and thus demand for commodities,” Jack Chambers, interest rate strategist and economist at Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), said in a morning note. “The economic data released by China lacked any significant surprises… the majority of them were within expectations, thus trading has been fairly quiet and changes across the base metals complex have been minimal,” a base metals analyst told Fastmarkets.
