China official National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) December 2024 PMIs – why the long face? | Forexlive

The data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) is here:

In brief:

Manufacturing PMI 50.1

• slightly down from 50.3 in November
• third consecutive month of expansion
• fell short of the median forecast of 50.3

Non-Manufacturing PMI jumped to 52.2

• from 50.0 in November
• the non-manufacturing PMI covers the services and construction sectors

Composite PMI combines both manufacturing and non-manufacturing activities came in at 50.3

• slightly down from 50.4 in November

Maybe its just me but the acceleration in services is encouraging. The efforts to stimulate manufacturing are suspected of being a little misplaced, sending goods into domestic markets that are already well supplied and flirting with price deflation. Services and construction rising (an acceleration in expansion for the non-manufacturing sectors, in the PMI at least) would seem to be a more desirable outcome.

My interest was piqued, too, by the rise in AUD ahead of the data release. Leaky? Or just China being China?