Aussie markets hiccup on China slowdown fears

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The Caixin China services PMI is out today and what is usually a pretty marginal indicator seems suddenly to have crystallised lurking China slowdown fears:

The Caixin China Composite PMI™ data (which covers both manufacturing and services) pointed to a weaker increase in total Chinese output at the end of the first quarter. At 52.1 in March, the Composite Output Index fell from 52.6 in February to signal the slowest increase in Chinese business activity for six months.

Similar trends were seen at the sector level, with both manufacturers and service providers noting slower expansions in output. Furthermore, the rate of services activity growth weakened to a six-month low in March. This was highlighted by the seasonally adjusted Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index posting at 52.2, down from 52.6 in February, which was consistent with only a modest rate of increase. Chinese manufacturing production also rose modestly in March.

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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.