With Caixin China PMI numbers today broadly confirming Monday’s official CCP data, the outlook for China and its neighbors remains bright. The general trends shown in the Caixin PMIs reflect those of Japan and South Korea. Manufacturing held steady or gained slightly across Asia in the face of rising local prices and input costs, as well as export headwinds from appreciating currencies. Japanese and Chinese services saw the largest increase for January, pulling the Caixin composite into expansionary territory.
Japan’s January PMIs were finalized today and also paint an encouraging picture. As in China, manufacturing holds steady, and services led composite up to an expansionary level.
South Korea’s manufacturing PMI data for last month matches this trend as well. A slight uptick shows respondents weighing confidence from growing demand in China against weakening relative export strength against competitors.
