The survey data don’t offer a clear signal on the strength of factory activity last month. The Caixin manufacturing PMI was largely unchanged but the official index dropped sharply. The former is generally the more reliable guide to cyclical trends. But we think it would be a mistake to ignore the sharp drop in the official index entirely, particularly given broader signs in the hard data that growth is slowing.
Subscriber content
Read this in full, free
Start a free trial and use one of your 10 free starter credits to unlock this piece.