BEIJING: The steady ratcheting-up of monetary tightening has combined with the Lunar New Year holiday to weigh on China's factories in February, even as inflation has continued to accelerate, a survey showed on Monday, according to Reuters. The HSBC flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), making its debut, hit 51.5 in February, down from a final reading of 54.5 a month earlier, it said.
The flash PMI, designed to provide an early indication of the final data, which is due a week later, suggested that China's industrial sector was expanding at its slowest pace in seven months.
"The Chinese New Year holiday may be a factor but not the only reason. It also implies that quantitative tightening is starting to filter through, yet more still needs to be done to check inflation," said Qu Hongbin, HSBC's chief China economist. - Reuters
The flash PMI, designed to provide an early indication of the final data, which is due a week later, suggested that China's industrial sector was expanding at its slowest pace in seven months.
"The Chinese New Year holiday may be a factor but not the only reason. It also implies that quantitative tightening is starting to filter through, yet more still needs to be done to check inflation," said Qu Hongbin, HSBC's chief China economist. - Reuters
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