The pace of activity in Chinese factories slowed in August, the release of a pair of official purchasing managers’ indexes (PMI) on Monday confirmed.
The official (PMI) came in at 51.1 in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, a tad below expectations for a reading of 51.2 and down from a 27-month high of 51.7 in July. It remains above the 50-mark which separates expansion from contraction.
The final reading of HSBC’s flash manufacturing PMI for August meanwhile fell to a three-month low of 50.2, a dip from the flash reading of 50.3.
There was little reaction in Asian stock markets outside of Australia. Sydney shares widened their gains to 0.5 percent, hitting a more than one-week high, while the Australian dollar barely moved.
The PMI figures follow a slew of disappointing economic data – from manufacturing to credit growth – over the past month despite a burst of government stimulus measures to support the economy.
“The industrial sector is suffering from a drop in new lending, which is making it more difficult to operate and invest. The [PMI] data highlights renewed downward pressure on the Chinese economy emerging in the summer, but it also should prompt more policy easing measures from Beijing,” said Darius Kowalczyk, senior economist and strategist at Credit Agricole.
via CNBC
Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.
Alfonso Esparza
trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Latest posts by Alfonso Esparza (see all)
- Market Rally Still Going Low Holiday Volumes Awaiting Start of 2020 - 27 December 2019
- Market Awaits China Retaliation on Trade - 29 November 2019
- Alibaba to Close Order Book Ahead of Huge IPO - 18 November 2019