China's March Caixin Manufacturing PMI came in at 48.1 vs. 49.7 expected and February’s 50.4, showing that the country’s business conditions deteriorated amidst the latest covid outbreak last month.
Earlier on, China's official Manufacturing PMI contracted to 49.5 in March from 50.2 booked in February and against the 49.9 expected, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Thursday.
Comments from Dr. Wang Zhe, Senior Economist at Caixin Insight Group
“In the manufacturing sector, both supply and demand shrank. In March, Covid-19 flared up in several regions across China, disrupting manufacturing supply chains and impacting production. Market demand weakened, especially for consumer goods.”
“In March, both the gauges of output and total new orders came in at the lowest levels since February 2020. Overseas demand fell sharply, and global transportation conditions deteriorated. The gauge for new export orders hit its lowest in 22 months in March.”
Market reaction
AUD/USD is little changed below 0.7500 despite the awful Chinese PMI report, trading at 7483, as of writing. The spot is up 0.05% on the day.
