Analysts at the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) note that the U.S.-China trade tensions continue to escalate, compounding a domestically generated slowdown in China.

• “Witness a return to contraction in the country’s official manufacturing PMI in May (49.4) following two months of modest growth. Export orders also saw a marked decline. Perhaps of most concern for the Chinese leadership was the plunge in the employment index to a decade low.
• Beijing is sensitive to the link between unemployment and social unrest. The policy response so far has been sizeable. But there may just be some more in store for the second half of the year.”