CHINA PRESS: China Will Defend Interests After Mexico Tariffs

The Q2 WPI rose 0.8% q/q leaving annual inflation at 3.4% y/y after a recent trough at 3.2% in Q4 2024 and 4.1% in Q2 2024. Public sector quarterly wage gains outpaced the private sector for the third consecutive quarter at 1.0% q/q compared with 0.8%. Public wage growth is now up 0.1pp to 3.7% y/y, while private was 3.4% y/y. The RBA had forecast 3.3% for Q2 and in its August projections is expecting the WPI to trend lower to around 3% by Q2 2026. 2025 to date is showing some stabilisation in wage inflation.

Australia private vs public wages ex bonuses y/y%

• The share of large pay rises, above 4%, has declined substantially over the last year at 25% after 46% in Q2 2024.
• Private sector average wage rises in Q2 were 3.9% down from 4.2% a year ago. The share of employees receiving an increase was little changed at 12% compared to 11%.
• In the public sector, the share was 20% after 19% in Q2 last year with the average rise 3.5% down from 3.8%.
• SEEK advertised salaries rose 0.8% q/q in Q2, in line with the WPI result. Annual growth has trended lower since peaking at 4.9% y/y in September 2023 and was 3.5% in June this year.
• 55% of pay increases were covered by individual agreements. Awards tend to see changes scheduled for July 1, which will impact the Q3 data. The minimum wage rose 3.5% on July 1.

Australia wages ex bonuses y/y%

Consumers can receive an interest subsidy of 1% on loans for single purchases of no more than CNY50,000 for goods including vehicles and home furnishing, Yicai.com reported citing a statement by the Ministry of Finance and other departments. Businesses in eight consumer service sectors including catering and tourism can also enjoy such subsidies on loans up to CNY1 million for a single entity, which is expected to leverage a larger scale of funds to boost consumption compared to direct fiscal subsidies that have a limited multiplier effect, the newspaper said citing analysts.

China's e-commerce logistics index was 112.0 points in July, up 0.2 from June, setting a new high for the year, Securities Daily reported citing data by China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing. The sub-index of total business volume rose by 0.1 point to 130.9 to hit a new high this year, mainly driven by various national consumer subsidies and booming e-commerce consumption in rural areas, the newspaper said.