Whatâs Going On Here?Fresh data out on Tuesday showed that Chinese retail sales grew by more than expected at the start of the year, but the country might be headed straight back to its starting point. What Does This Mean?The Chinese economy was off to a flying start at the beginning of the year, as folk in the country splashed out to celebrate Lunar New Year and Beijingâs Winter Olympics. And they werenât fussy about what they bought: spending was up in all but one of the retail categories from the same time last year. The biggest rises were in fuel and jewelry, but car sales â which actually fell during a lot of last year â chipped in too. Overall, retail sales in January and February â combined to even out the Lunar New Yearâs impact since it can fall in either month â grew by 6.7% from the same time last year, much higher than the 3% analysts expected. Why Should I Care?Zooming in: Not too fastâŠ
Chinaâs strong start mightnât last long: the countryâs now battling its biggest surge in Covid cases since the start of the pandemic, with over 45 million people back in lockdowns as a result (tweet this). Add in that Goldman Sachs predicted last week that rising oil prices could cut Chinaâs economic growth by 0.5%, and plenty of economists now doubt the countryâs economy will hit its goal of growing 5.5% this year. And that â along with fears of new sanctions over its ties to Russia â might be why an index tracking some of Chinaâs biggest companies fell 5% on Tuesday.
The bigger picture: Appleâs feeling it.
Lockdowns in China â the worldâs biggest manufacturing hub â have been shutting down production plants around the country, and thatâll have a major impact on global supply chains. Foxconn, for one, just closed its Chinese production sites that were busy whipping up the latest iPhone 13. That could really hurt Appleâs sales, and investors know it: they sent Appleâs shares down to their lowest since November this week. | 
