The private survey manufacturing PMI on the improve in February

51.6

  • vs. 51.3 expected and 51.5 in January

Still sitting in expansion, but a mixed result in the detailsdetails

Dr. Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group

  • The Caixin China General Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for February stood at 51.6, up slightly from the previous month.
  • Within the headline composite index, the output and employment indices subsided, and the new orders index was up slightly, reflecting stable demand that was slightly stronger than output. Under those conditions, the index for output prices stopped declining and rose slightly, and the input prices index came down at a gradual rate.
  • The stocks of finished products and stocks of purchases indices on average showed increases in the range that indicates economic expansion, reflecting that companies were making active preparations to start work in March. This was also reflected in a rise for the future output index.
  • For now, the durability of the Chinese economy will persist. Looking ahead, whether demand generated from the beginning of work in March will gain strength will be key in determining China's economic direction for 2018.

more to come

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We got the official PMIs yesterday: