China’s purchasing managers index (PMI) held about even last month. It was good news, even if only relatively. A growing number of economists have become convinced that China’s exports would collapse due to weak demand from trading partners and a drop in consumer demand within the People’s Republic due to stagnant wages. Whether the trend will continue longer than a month is the question. And fears about the banking and credit system within the nation linger.
According to Reuters:
The headline services PMI published by the National Bureau of Statistics slipped to a 9-month low of 53.9 in June from May’s 54.3, and the reading from a Markit/HSBC survey improved a touch to 51.3 from 51.2 in May.
With a 50 index demarcating the difference between expansion and contraction, the numbers are still too close for comfort.
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