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The growth of China’s gross domestic product has been one of the engines driving everything from the cost of industrial metals to luxury goods stocks in recent years.
Worse-than-expected figures for Chinese GDP growth in the first quarter – which came in at 8.1 percent rather than the forecast 8.4 percent - have, not surprisingly, caused some consternation in markets. China has been a powerhouse of growth, while the specter of recession looms over many Western economies.
European sharesopened lower Friday following the news, while the price of oil fell.
The Australian dollar and most other Asia-Pacific currencies, with the exception of the yen , fell against the U.S. dollar amid worries that a Chinese slowdown would affect the rest of the region.
Yet some argue that slowing growth in China will be positive if it means a more sustainable growth pattern, and that there could be an opportunity to buy on weakness in currencies and commodities.
“We want Chinese growth to slow. In the bigger scheme of things, it may be short-term painful with weaker export demand, but it’s rebalancing the global economy,” Simon Smith, chief economist at FXPro, told Squawk Box.
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