In July this year, the China Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) indicated a final reading of 47.8, down from the HSBC PMI final reading of 49.4 for June, falling to its lowest level of the past two years and remaining below the threshold mark of 50 for the fifth consecutive month, as announced by Beijing-based Caixin media group on August 3.
According to economist Hongbin Qu, the Caixin flash PMI indicates that domestic demand in China continues to be slack, while there is a lack of optimism as regards the prospects for the recovery of overseas demand. In this context, Mr. Qu suggested China should continue its loose monetary policy.
Meanwhile, as announced by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on August 1, the purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China’s manufacturing sector was at 50.0 percent in July of the current year, down 0.2 percentage points compared to June, which is its first decline over the past five months.
Caixin media group has taken over the sponsorship of the China PMI data compiled by financial information services provider Markit from British-based banking giant HSBC.