China's NBS Manufacturing PMI contracts further to 48.8 in May vs. 49.4 expected

Dhwani Mehta FXStreet

China's official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) came in at 48.8 in May as against the 49.2 contraction seen in April, the latest data published by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Wednesday. The market consensus for a reading of 49.4.

The index hit a five month low, arriving below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction.

The NBS Services PMI dropped to 54.5 in May, compared with a solid 56.4 figure reported in April and beating expectations of 50.7.

AUD/USD reaction

The downbeat print of the Chinese Manufacturing PMI smashed the Aussie Dollar, with AUD/USD shedding roughly 40 pips on the data release. The spot is trading at 0.6508, at the time of writing, down 0.15% on the day.

Author

Dhwani Mehta

FXStreet

Residing in Mumbai (India), Dhwani is a Senior Analyst and Manager of the Asian session at FXStreet. She has over 10 years of experience in analyzing and covering the global financial markets, with specialization in Forex and commodities markets.

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