China's official manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.1 vs 50.3 in January, a number highlighting only the slightest bit of growth.
The private survey from Caixin was worse falling to 49.1 from 50.9.
The Caixin reading is the lowest since the dawn of the pandemic:
China is struggling with rising covid cases in a number of cities. Today 54 local cases were reported with 20 of those in Beijing. Another 19 were reported in Hangzhou. Reports Friday revealed that a city just outside of Beijing of 1.2 million was under lockdown. Officials had previously been transparent about lockdowns but that one wasn't disclosed.
The Beijing Olympics begin on Friday and Lunar New Year holidays begin Monday.
There are also signs that covid and the real estate slump is stressing the non-manufacturing sector as the official PMI fell to 51.1 from 52.7.
It's entirely unclear how or when China will go from covid-zero to living with covid. For now, the strategy continues to be long quarantines for arrivals and heavy-handed suppression of cases.
