Most of the time, weekly data published by the China Securities Depository and Clearing Corporation (CSDC) is as dull as the organization’s name would suggest. But of some interest this year has been the weekly number of people opening trading accounts that allow them to buy and sell stocks.
Earlier, Quartz reported that a record 3.3 million individuals had rushed to join China’s stock market in the single week ending April 17. That was far above this year’s previous average weekly sign-up rate of 800,000.
After that week the market continued to grow until June 11, when it began a dramatic, prolonged crash that roiled markets worldwide. Quartz wanted to see how many people had signed up in the weeks from April 17 until now.
Oddly, however, the CSDC’s English-language website—which publishes data as far back as July 2013—has none of its typical investor data past May 29—two weeks ahead of the market’s descent:
It’s not clear why the CSDC either stopped publishing or removed its weekly data. Perhaps it doesn’t want to publish stats that show people closing their trading accounts, as this could conceivably lead other traders to pull out of the market, and accelerate a crash. Or perhaps it’s on a rare and extended summer vacation.