RMB and Pets on the Rise While Marriages Decline

RMB
Image via Ai

On Monday morning, onshore RMB reached its strongest level since January 2 at 7.1150 per dollar and was up to 7.1365 by noon local time. 

This comes amidst fears of a recession in the US caused by weak labor data. Wall Street has been reeling as a result and the Dow and S&P 500 closed out Monday at their worst day since 2022. 

Pets
Image via ChinaDaily

By the end of the year, the number of pets in China is likely to surpass that of infants. Not only are more people unwilling to have children, but there has also been a decline in the number of women of childbearing age.

READ MORE: China’s Birth Rate Declines for 8th Consecutive Year

Analysts from Goldman Sachs have estimated that the number of pets could nearly double the number of children below the age of four by 2030.

The amount of money spent on pets in 2024 is expected to reach RMB811.4 billion. In 2020, there was just RMB295.3 billion spent on the same products and services for pets – which includes food, toys and healthcare.

Marriage
Image via ChinaDaily

The younger generation is increasingly opting out of marriage, and it is anticipated that the number of marriages will reach a 45-year low in 2024. 

In the first half of the year, 3.43 million couples tied the knot – a 12.7% decrease from 2023. There has been an almost continuous decline in the number of marriages in China since 2013, which saw an all-time high of 13.47 million.

The number of divorces has also generally increased, but the marriage trend may be affected by the fact that more and more people are choosing to get married later in life and it might be too early to see the full picture.

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[Cover image via Ai and ChinaDaily]