China non-manufacturing PMI slows

Monday 3 February 2014

China’s non-manufacturing PMI, which should never be confused with the services PMI, fell to 53.4 in January from 54.6 in December, the slowest in two years.

The non-manufacturing PMI covers the parts of the industrial economy, like building, that the regular PMI does not.

In slightly better news, South Korea’s PMI managed a tiny gain to 50.9:

But it too is clearly losing momentum. No doubt both China and Korea are suffering in part because the weak Yen is giving Japan a huge edge. It’s PMI last weak was headed for the moon:

It will suffer more as the Yen climbs on the emerging markets crisis.

About the author

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.