China's manufacturing PMI fell by 0.3 pts from the previous month to 51.4 in July, indicating a moderation in the growth in the manufacturing sector in China. 7 of the 13 sub-indices were higher than their respective levels in the previous month.

The output index dropped from 54.4 in June to 53.5 in July, showing a deceleration in output growth. The new orders index dropped by 0.3 pts in July.1 In comparison, the new export orders index fell at a faster pace, by 1.1 pts, in July, indicating that the growth in new export orders posted a sharper deceleration than the growth in new domestic orders in the month. Also noteworthy is that the input prices index rose strongly by 7.5 pts from the previous month to 57.9 in July, showing that the prices of production inputs have risen at a fast pace lately.

By size of enterprises, the PMI of 'large enterprises' came in at 52.9 in July, up from 52.7 in June. The PMI of 'medium enterprises' went down to 49.6 in July from 50.5 in June, while the PMI of 'small enterprises' fell to 48.9 in July from 50.1 in June.