Market Battle Fatigue: China Versus U.S.

 | Jul 15, 2019 12:13AM ET

There have been numerous reports of an economic slowdown (and even contraction in some sectors) in China, one of which describes those in detail at ZeroHedge . While some of China's difficulties may have been exacerbated by a fairly recent trade war with the U.S., it certainly didn't start them. Other factors were already in play and bear responsibility for its inception, as explained therein.

There are a couple of gauges that seem to measure the strength/weakness of both the United States' and China's economies, namely the Loonie and the Aussie dollar, respectively.

Canada exports many commodities to the U.S., while Australia exports many to China. The strength/weakness of those exports is reflected in their respective currencies, and, hence, in the economies of the U.S. and China.

The long-term monthly forex chart below of CAD/AUD shows that the Loonie has, essentially, outperformed the Aussie dollar since February 2012, albeit with several periods of sustained volatility peppering it along the way.