China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI rises to 51.1 in March vs. 51.0 expected
China's Caixin Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged higher to 51.1 in March, as against the expansion of 50.9 in February, according to the latest data released on Tuesday.
The reading beat the market forecast of 51.0 in the reported month.
Key highlights (via Caixin)
Production expands at most pronounced pace in ten months.
Business confidence rises to highest in just under a year.
Selling prices fall at fastest pace since last July amid lower costs.
"Both supply and demand expanded at a faster pace amid the market upturn. In March, growth in manufacturers’ output and total new orders accelerated, with the former hitting a 10-month high,” said Wang Zhe, an economist at Caixin Insight Group.
Wang added, “external demand also picked up pace thanks to the recovery in the global economy, pushing the gauge for new export orders to its highest level since February 2023.”
On Sunday, China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released the country’s official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), which jumped to 50.8 in March, compared with the 49.1 contraction reported in February and above the estimates of a 49.9 figure. The Non-Manufacturing PMI rose to 53.3 in the same period vs. February’s 51.4.
AUD/USD reaction to China’s PMI data
The uptick in the Chinese Manufacturing PMI fails to impress the Aussie Dollar, as AUD/USD clings to gains at 0.6525, at the time of writing, up 0.08% on the day.
Australian Dollar price today
The table below shows the percentage change of Australian Dollar (AUD) against listed major currencies today. Australian Dollar was the strongest against the Pound Sterling.
| USD | EUR | GBP | CAD | AUD | JPY | NZD | CHF | |
| USD | 0.03% | 0.06% | 0.05% | 0.10% | -0.06% | 0.00% | 0.02% | |
| EUR | -0.03% | 0.02% | 0.02% | 0.07% | -0.10% | -0.04% | -0.02% | |
| GBP | -0.06% | -0.03% | -0.01% | 0.04% | -0.13% | -0.06% | -0.05% | |
| CAD | -0.05% | -0.02% | 0.00% | 0.05% | -0.12% | -0.06% | -0.03% | |
| AUD | -0.10% | -0.07% | -0.04% | -0.06% | -0.17% | -0.11% | -0.09% | |
| JPY | 0.06% | 0.12% | 0.12% | 0.12% | 0.19% | 0.07% | 0.08% | |
| NZD | 0.00% | 0.03% | 0.06% | 0.06% | 0.10% | -0.07% | 0.01% | |
| CHF | -0.02% | 0.02% | 0.04% | 0.03% | 0.08% | -0.08% | -0.01% |
The heat map shows percentage changes of major currencies against each other. The base currency is picked from the left column, while the quote currency is picked from the top row. For example, if you pick the Euro from the left column and move along the horizontal line to the Japanese Yen, the percentage change displayed in the box will represent EUR (base)/JPY (quote).
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.
