Bloomberg with a rundown of the sad and sorry official China PMIs

Manufacturing PMI

  • deteriorated for a sixth month
  • Three-year low of 49.4
  • The longest stretch of readings remaining below 50 on record
  • The manufacturing gauge slumped last month because of weak demand and efforts to reduce overcapacity, NBS said in a statement that accompanied the data

Commentary:

"Headwinds on traditional manufacturers are clearly increasing rather than fading," said Chen Xingdong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas SA in Beijing. "The economy is still weakening."

And, not to finish on a downer:

  • Services, which accounted for more than half of the economy last year, continue to show resilience and create employment.