Data released on April 22nd shows an increase in China's HSBC Flash Manufacturing PMI, as shown on the graph below...as it's still below 50.0, the industry is still in contraction. The Final release is scheduled for April 30th.
The following is an excerpt from the HSBC PMI press release:
"Commenting on the Flash China Manufacturing PMI survey, Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co-Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC said:
'As April flash PMI ticked higher, this suggests that the earlier easing measures have started to work and hence should ease concerns of a sharp growth slowdown. That said, the pace of both output and demand growth remains at a low level in an historical context and the job market is under pressure. This calls for additional easing measures in the coming months. We expect monetary and fiscal easing to speed up in 2Q.'"
As I'm writing this post Sunday evening, China's Shanghai and Hang Seng Indices are down...will see where they close on Monday...perhaps this small uptick will signal good fortune coming to China.
