A beat but drops to a 5 month low.
For the January 2020 survey, data were collected 13-22 January 2020. So, it missed the worst of the ourbreak news, just before it cascaded terribly.
FWIW, some of the commentary from the report:
- manufacturing sector expanded at the slowest pace since August, despite growing for six consecutive months, indicating a mild economic recovery.
- subindex for total new orders continued to weaken and dropped to a level not seen since last September
- gauge for new export orders fell into contractionary territory, ending three straight months of expansion
- Production growth slowed, with the output subindex posting its lowest reading since last August
- employment subindex returned to negative territory
- business confidence continued to improve, with the gauge for future output expectations on the rise and tending to recover after two years of depression, due chiefly to the phase one trade deal between China and the U.S.
- Industrial product prices continued to rise
- In the near term, China's economy will also be impacted by the new pneumonia epidemic, and therefore need to gain support from proper countercyclical policies.