The HSBC/Markit China manufacturing PMI flash estimate for August drops to a 9-month low.
The internals look weak as well. New export orders slide to 44.7 from 46.7, while new orders slide from 48.7 to 46.6. Both input and output prices components continue to point to further lack of inflationary pressure (or indeed, further deflationary pressure). While inventory of raw material is contracting, finished goods inventory climbs to a record high according to HSBC. The resulting new orders minus inventory measure thus fell to the lowest point since December 2008.
Meanwhile, employment remains in contractionary territory, but unchanged.
The chart below shows the official PMI vs. HSBC/Markit PMI:
And here is New Orders minus Inventory:
This is a very weak set of numbers, both at the headline level and at the individual components level. This points to no bottoming out just yet for the economy.