China Caixin Services PMI for December 48.0 (vs. prior 46.7)

I posted the official Chinese PMIs over the weekend:

• China official PMIs: Manufacturing 47.0 (vs. prior 48.0) & Services 41.6 (prior 46.7)

And the Caixin manufacturing PMI earlier this week:

• China PMI data: Caixin Manufacturing PMI December 49.0 (previous 49.4)

China's COVID-19 surge is weighing on China's economy. Services improved but remained in contraction.

Services PMI for December 48.0 (vs. prior 46.7)

• Composite PMI is 48.3 (prior 47.0)

From the report on the services PMI (in brief):

• Both supply and demand shrank in the sector
• Employment in the sector continued to deteriorate in December.
• Prices remained stable.
• Optimism improved significantly. Service providers expressed strong confidence in an economic recovery following the easing of Covid containment measures. The gauge for expectations for future activity rose nearly 4 points month-on-month, logging the joint highest reading since May 2021.

Those last two bullet points are cause for some optimism.