HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Forecasts in two Chinese newspapers on just-released economic data proved remarkably, almost suspiciously accurate, with analysts saying the reports' other predictions may now point to possible upside surprises from more data due out later this week.

Reports in the mainland Chinese publication 21st Century Business Herald and in Hong Kong's Ming Pao managed to predict the consumer and producer price results ahead of their release Wednesday. See story on Chinese inflation.

The accuracy of the newspapers' forecasts beat out those of most economists, and Merrill Lynch said the results, rather than being a lucky coincidence, show that the "whispered numbers" referred in the reports are reliable.

"Today's release confirms those whispered inflation numbers, meaning other whispered numbers are likely to be highly credible," Merrill Lynch analysts said in a note Wednesday.

Strong growth tipped
The Merrill analysts said some of the sharp rise in Hong Kong stocks Wednesday reflected the market's belief in the so-called whispered numbers, many of which predict stronger-than-expected growth in upcoming data sets.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index closed 4% higher, while the Hang Seng China Enterprise Index -- which is composed of Hong Kong-listed mainland Chinese companies -- shot 5% higher.

The reports say fixed-asset investments for May, due out Thursday, will show a 32.9% rise, while the month's industrial production and retail sales, due Friday, will post gains of 8.9% and 15.2%, respectively.

All the newspapers' forecasts are higher than expected.





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