China's Caixin services PMI drops further to 51.5 in August, a big miss

China's Caixin services PMI for August came in at 51.5 vs 52.7 expected and 52.8 last, which showed that Chinese business activity growth slipped to five-month lows in August.

Meanwhile, the Composite Output Index also fell five-month lows of 52.0 in August from July’s reading of 52.3, signaling only a modest rate of expansion.

Quotes from Dr. Zhengsheng Zhong, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis at CEBM Group:

“The latest Caixin China Composite PMI™ data (which covers both manufacturing and services) indicated that business activity growth across China weakened for the second month in a row in August.”

“The decline in the headline index was driven by the slower growth of services activity during August. Furthermore, business activity at services companies increased at the weakest pace since October 2017. This was highlighted by the seasonally adjusted Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index falling for the second month in a row, from 52.8 in July to 51.5 in August. In contrast, manufacturing production rose at the quickest rate since January, though growth remained moderate overall.”