MNI 5 THINGS: China June PMI Slows as Export Orders Fall

     BEIJING (MNI) - Below are five things we learned from the June China

Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), released on Saturday by the China

Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) and the National Bureau of

Statistics. 

     - Headline manufacturing PMI fell to 51.5 in June from 51.9 in May. The

reading was slightly below MNI's forecast of 51.6. The manufacturing gauge had

for almost two years remained above 50, which divides expansion and contraction.

     - The production index was 53.6, down from 54.1 in May. Despite the

dropping, the index still stands above the average of 53.0 in the first half. 

     - The overall new orders index dropped by 0.6 percentage point from last

month to 53.2, in line with the falling trend of new export orders, which at

49.8 were 1.4 percentage points down from last month. The new exports order

index fell into contraction for the first time after three months of being above

50.

     - Imports index fell to 50.0 in June from 50.9 in the previous month. It

was also lower than the 51.2 reading in June 2017. The shrinking of the index

showed the decreasing domestic demand due to the China-U.S. trade frictions.

     - Services PMI rose slightly to 55.0 in June from 54.9 in May, the forth

consecutive month of increase. It was the 10th month that the reading stayed

above 54.0, a relatively high level - showing the service sector is sustaining

strong momentum. The expectations index fell to 60.8 from 61.0 last month, the

second month that the reading decelerated. 

--MNI Beijing Bureau; tel: +86 (10) 8532-5998; email: flora.guo@marketnews.com

--MNI Beijing Bureau; +86 10 8532 5998; email: william.bi@mni-news.com

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