China’s consumer sentiment improves in December

Mainland consumer sentiment improved further last month, in a sign that confidence in business and the real estate market has started to rise.

The improvement in consumer confidence, however, is unlikely to offset the slowing growth of manufacturing activities and property construction in the near term, as overcapacity continues to dampen demand.

The country's economic growth is expected to have cooled to its slowest pace in 24 years at 7.4 per cent, missing the annual target of 7.5 per cent. The National Bureau of Statistics is due to release the gross domestic product data on January 20.

The Westpac MNI China Consumer Sentiment Indicator rose to 112.5 last month from 111 in November. For the whole year, sentiment was down 10 per cent.

"The improvement in sentiment over the past two months provides some hope that the worst could be behind us. Sentiment remains relatively weak though, which cautions against being overly optimistic," MNI Indicators chief economist Philip Uglow said in a statement.

Westpac indicators show consumers became more optimistic about the business outlook, while spending plans on entertainment and dining out climbed, probably due to holiday demand.

Expectations for housing prices rose for a second straight month. The confidence may have risen because of the central bank's first cut of the benchmark interest rates in two years.