In a downbeat day of data here is some good news. China’s non-manufacturing PMI (which is not services) registered a solid gain in March of 1.1 points to 55.6:
Source: Bloomberg
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New orders also rose slightly. Although well off cycle highs, we are at least bouncing long at the lows.
Also, the HSBC services PMI was released, which registered much the same outcome:
After adjusting for seasonal factors, the headline Business Activity Index posted 54.3 in March, signalling a solid rate of expansion in activity in the Chinese service sector. Moreover, the rate of growth quickened over the month, as signalled by the index rising above February’s reading of 52.1.
David Llewellyn-Smith is Chief Strategist at the MB Fund and MB Super. David is the founding publisher and editor of MacroBusiness and was the founding publisher and global economy editor of The Diplomat, the Asia Pacific’s leading geo-politics and economics portal.
He is also a former gold trader and economic commentator at The Sydney Morning Herald, The Age, the ABC and Business Spectator. He is the co-author of The Great Crash of 2008 with Ross Garnaut and was the editor of the second Garnaut Climate Change Review.
