Fitch Cuts China's 2022 GDP Forecast on COVID Hit

People line up for PCR tests in Bejing, China. Reuters
People line up for PCR tests in Bejing, China. Reuters
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Fitch Cuts China's 2022 GDP Forecast on COVID Hit

People line up for PCR tests in Bejing, China. Reuters
People line up for PCR tests in Bejing, China. Reuters

Fitch said on Tuesday it has cut China's GDP growth forecast for 2022 to 4.3% from 4.8%, saying pandemic-related disruptions have had an impact on the country's economy in the first two quarters of the year.

The rating agency said it stills expects a quarter-over-quarter GDP contraction in the second quarter, before the economy starts to recover.

Fitch raised its 2023 growth forecast for the country slightly higher to 5.2% from 5.1%.

Meanwhile, an official said at a press briefing on Tuesday Beijing will postpone school reopening for at least one week after the labor day holiday.

The date when schools can resume will be decided after studying the COVID situation in the city, Li Yi, spokesperson with Beijing municipal education commission, said.

Some of Shanghai's 25 million people came out for brief walks and grocery shopping after enduring more than a month under a COVID lockdown, while Beijing embarked on another round of mass testing to control a nascent outbreak.



Bitcoin Jumps to Record on Institutional Investor Demand

FILE PHOTO: A bitcoin symbol is displayed on a screen before US Vice President JD Vance speaks at a Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, May 28, 2025.   REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bitcoin symbol is displayed on a screen before US Vice President JD Vance speaks at a Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo
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Bitcoin Jumps to Record on Institutional Investor Demand

FILE PHOTO: A bitcoin symbol is displayed on a screen before US Vice President JD Vance speaks at a Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, May 28, 2025.   REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: A bitcoin symbol is displayed on a screen before US Vice President JD Vance speaks at a Bitcoin conference in Las Vegas, Nevada, US, May 28, 2025. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo

Bitcoin rallied to an all-time high on Friday, powered by demand from institutional investors and crypto-friendly policies from US President Donald Trump's administration.
The world's largest cryptocurrency rose to a peak of $116,781.10 in the Asian session on Friday, taking its gains for the year so far to more than 24%. It was last trading at $116,563.11, Reuters said.
"Bitcoin's new all-time high is being driven by relentless institutional accumulation - major players are scooping up supply and drying up liquidity on exchanges," said Joshua Chu, co-chair of the Hong Kong Web3 Association.
In March, Trump signed an executive order to establish a strategic reserve of cryptocurrencies. He has also appointed several crypto-friendly individuals, including Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins and White House artificial intelligence czar David Sacks.
Trump's family businesses have also made forays into cryptocurrencies. Trump Media & Technology Group is looking to launch an exchange-traded fund to invest in multiple crypto tokens including Bitcoin, an SEC filing on Tuesday showed.
Ether, the world's second-largest cryptocurrency, similarly jumped nearly 5% to $2,956.82, after earlier hitting a five-month high of $2,998.41.