China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI expands to 50.4 in February, a big beat

China's February Caixin Manufacturing PMI came in at 50.4 vs. 49.3 expected and January’s 49.1, showing that the country’s business conditions improve slightly in the reported period.

Earlier on, China's official Manufacturing PMI expanded to 50.2 in February from 50.1 booked in January and against 49.9 expected, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported.

Comments from Dr. Wang Zhe, Senior Economist at Caixin Insight Group

“… manufacturing PMI came in at 50.4 in February, up from 49.1 the previous month, showing manufacturing activity bounced back into expansionary territory. Overall, the Chinese manufacturing sector stayed on the track for recovery.”

“Supply in the manufacturing sector improved. Overall demand was strong, though external demand remained subdued. The gauges for both output and total new orders returned to expansionary territory. The gauge for total new orders hit its highest level in eight months in February. Amid the worsening effects of the pandemic, which disrupted transportation, external demand remained weak. The gauge for new export orders in February remained in contractionary territory for the seventh straight month.”

Market reaction

AUD/USD eases slightly towards 0.7250 despite the upbeat Chinese PMI reports, trading at 7259, as of writing. The spot is almost unchanged on the day.