Last week we had the official services PMI, and manufacturing PMIs (official & HSBC)

  • Comes in at 50.9 (vs. prior 52.5)
  • Still in expansion territory, but at the weakest reading for 28 months
  • the HSBC Composite Output Index posting at 51.2 in December, down from 52.3 in November
China HSBC services pmi result 06 January 2014

Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC:

  • Despite the moderation of the headline China Services PMI index, which reflected slower new business growth, labour market conditions improved for the fourth month in a row.
  • We expect the steady expansion of manufacturing sectors to lend support to service sector growth.
  • Moreover, the implementation of reforms such as lowering the entry barriers for private business in service sectors and the expanded VAT reforms should help to revitalise service sectors in the year ahead.”