Investing.com - China’s Caixin manufacturing PMI contracted more than expected in January, a private survey showed on Friday.
The Caixin/Markit index of manufacturing for January came in at 48.3 from 49.7 last month. The reading was at its lowest since February 2016. Analysts previously expected a reading of 49.5 for January.
"Latest survey data signalled subdued overall operating conditions in the Chinese manufacturing sector at the start of 2019," the statement by Caixin and IHS Markit said. "Softer demand conditions led companies to revise their production schedules ... Underlying data indicated that weakness largely stemmed from muted domestic demand."
Official PMI numbers that were released on Thursday showed China’s manufacturing sector contracted for the second straight month in January. The January reading came in at 49.5, largely in line with expectations and was slightly higher than the 49.4 in December.
Large businesses and state-owned enterprises make up a large proportion of responses in the official PMI, while the Caixin indicator has a bigger mix of small- and medium-sized firms.
Trade negotiations between U.S. and Chinese officials were concluded on Thursday. U.S. President Donald Trump said the talks had “tremendous progress,” while Chinese state-owned media Xinhua reported that Beijing agreed to increase imports of "US agricultural products, energy products, industrial manufactured goods and service products" during the talks.