In April, the official NBS Manufacturing PMI in China fell to 50.8 index points from the 52.0 which were recorded the prior month. These results missed the initial market expectations, which were projecting a lesser fall to 51.0 index points.
The diminished manufacturing production in the world's second-largest economy is exacerbated by the prolongation of the muted global demand due to the coronavirus crisis.
Though many investors hope that China is on the fast-track to achieving economic recovery from its lockdown, yesterday's manufacturing data illustrates the seesaw process that is going to underline the path to economic stabilisation.
Meanwhile, the Chinese yuan continues to be underperforming compared to the greenback. The USDCNY pair remains trading in a bullish trend in what looks more and more like a typical 1-5 impulse wave pattern.
This bullish advancement, however, seems to be temporarily put on pause as the short-term momentum appears to be turning bearish. This could lead to the establishment of an intermediate correction before the bullish market can continue heading further north.