A quick take on the China PMIs today from Bloomberg economists .

OUR TAKE:

Early signs from the PMIs suggest China's economy holding steady at a low rate of growth in March.

Signs of a slide in employment across the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors could be a trigger for additional policy support.

They go on:

  • The PMI data provides the only high-frequency reading on employment
  • It shows employment contracting in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors.
  • Premier Li Keqiang ended the National People's Congress with a promise to act on growth if employment started to slide
  • The policy response to slower growth has already started. The central bank has cut the down-payment requirement for second-home buyers, welcoming speculators back into the market. Open market operations have swung from drains to injections, bringing interbank rates down slightly.

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Today's PMI data is here: