Quotes from Capital Economics:
- China's HSBC/Markit manufacturing PMI picked up from 49.7 in January to 50.1 this month according to the flash reading (released on Wed). Although the breakdown points to weaker external demand, the PMI suggests that economic momentum has improved slightly and that downward pressure on inflation is easing.
- However, despite the data, economic momentum remains fairly subdued and unless we see a more substantial pick-up over the coming months, headline growth should begin to suffer in Q2.
