HSBC China manufacturing PMI:

  • expected is 49.3
  • flash was 49.2
  • prior was 50.7

Not as bad as the earlier flash reading, but still a big decline on the month and a slide into contraction

Earlier: China manufacturing PMI: 50.1 (vs. 49.7 expected)

Annabel Fiddes, an economist at Markit:

  • "The latest data indicate that domestic and foreign demand remains subdued amid weaker market conditions, which dampened output growth. Meanwhile, company downsizing contributed to a further decline in manufacturing employment, with the pace of job shedding the strongest since last summer"
  • "Despite the sustained fall in cost burdens, any savings were generally passed on to clients as part of attempts to attract new business, suggesting a further squeeze on profit margins."

Final PMI employment sub index 47.4, its 17th straight month of contraction and the lowest reading since August 2014