China's Caixin PMI for July beats expectations by over 2 full points

China's private manufacturing PMI survey for the month of July came in at 50.6 vs 48.7 exp and 48.8. The major divergence on the outcome vs expectation has boosted the Australian Dollar across the board.

Summary

July survey data signalled a renewed upturn in operating conditions faced by Chinese manufacturers, with output, new orders and buying activity all returning to growth. However, employment continued to decline and at a solid pace, which in turn contributed to the quickest rise in outstanding business since March 2011. Meanwhile, increased prices for raw materials led to a marked rise in average input costs, which companies generally passed on to clients in the form of higher output charges.

Commenting on the China General Manufacturing PMI™ data, Dr. Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group said: “The Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.6 for July, up significantly by 2.0 points from the reading for June, marking the first expansion since February 2015. The sub-indexes of output, new orders and inventory all surged past the neutral 50- point level that separates growth from decline. This indicates that the Chinese economy has begun to show signs of stabilizing due to the gradual implementation of proactive fiscal policy. But the pressure on economic growth remains, and supportive fiscal and monetary policies must be continued.”