It is ISM week globally, and it didn’t start well in China, though we’re always wary of over-interpreting a tenth of a percentage point move either side of consensus. Manufacturing PMI came in at 49.7 compared to expectations of 49.8 but remember that the first 5 months of last year were all below 50 with a low of 48.0 in March 2014. Two numbers now below 50 but still on a 49 handle doesn’t make for exciting headlines, though it was enough to knock the Shanghai Composite Index down -2.5% and take the cumulative year-to-date losses to -3.3%.
Read the full report: FX Research