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?
This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.