Insights 
VT 
China’s July Economic Data Preview
China is set to release its July economic data on August 15, with mixed expectations. Some experts suggest resilience, while others anticipate a slowdown in domestic activity.
Analysts at ANZ Research predict improvements in retail sales, industrial production, and fixed-asset investment. They attribute possible gains to targeted policies and robust exports despite trade tensions.
On the other hand, Moody’s Analytics expects a broad decline. Retail sales growth might slow to 4% year-on-year from 4.8% in June. Industrial production growth could decrease to 6.5% from 6.8%, and fixed-asset investment growth is likely to fall to 2.6% from 2.8%. They cite weak confidence as a factor affecting investment and demand.
Recently released inflation data showed a 3.6% year-on-year drop in the producer price index, with consumer prices remaining unchanged. This suggests deflationary pressures persist in parts of the economy.
Assessing China’s Policy Effectiveness
The upcoming data will be closely watched to assess the effectiveness of China’s policy measures. It might indicate whether further stimulus is required to support growth in the latter half of the year.
With China’s key economic data dropping tomorrow, we are positioned for a significant volatility event. The divide between optimistic and pessimistic forecasts means the market is coiled for a surprise in either direction. Implied volatility on China-related assets is likely to be elevated, which presents specific opportunities for options traders in the coming weeks.
The underlying trend appears weak, which gives weight to the more cautious outlook. The recent producer price index decline of 3.6% shows that deflationary pressure is not a temporary issue. We can’t ignore the persistent drag from the property sector, which saw new home sales fall over 25% year-over-year in data from early August 2025, continuing the trend seen all year.
This potential slowdown has direct consequences for commodities. If industrial production misses expectations, we should expect further downward pressure on copper and iron ore futures. We saw a similar pattern in the first quarter of 2025 when weak manufacturing data led to a sharp sell-off in industrial metals.
Given the uncertainty, a strategy that profits from a large move, regardless of direction, is prudent. We are looking at straddles on ETFs like the FXI, which involves buying both a call and a put option with the same strike price and expiry. This play is a direct bet on the market having a stronger reaction than currently priced in.
The currency market will also be critical to watch. A weaker-than-expected data set will likely push the offshore yuan (CNH) towards the weaker side of its trading band against the dollar. The People’s Bank of China has intervened to slow the yuan’s decline before, as seen in late 2024, so we expect two-way volatility.
Looking back, we remember the market reactions throughout 2024, where initial optimism from policy support often faded when the real economic data failed to show a strong recovery. Those past disappointments suggest being skeptical of any initial positive market reaction. Any relief rally on better-than-expected numbers could present an opportunity to position for a fade if the underlying weakness persists.
