China’s July HSBC services PMI has crashed to 50:
Commenting on the China Services and Composite PMI™ data, Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC said: “The headline HSBC China Services PMI came in at 50.0 in July, the lowest reading since the series began in November 2005. Both the new business and outstanding business indices declined from their levels in June. The weakness in the headline number likely reflects the impact of the ongoing property slowdown in many cities as property related activity, such as agencies and residential services, see less business. Meanwhile, the employment and business sentiment indices remain stable. In the coming months, we think the service sector may get some support from the recovery in investment. But today’s data points to the need of continued policy support to offset the drag from the property correction and consolidate the economic recovery.”
Generally speaking, services PMIs are a bit fluffy but this is still a cat among the pidgeons and whacked the dollar lower, even after better than expected trade figures.
