China's Services Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell sharply to 51.8 in August, as against an expansion of 54.1 seen in July, according to the latest data published by Caixin on Tuesday.

Key points

Commenting on the China General Services PMI ™ data, Dr. Wang Zhe, Senior Economist at Caixin Insight Group said: “Services supply and demand continued to expand with improving market conditions, though at a slower pace.”

“The gauges for business activity and total new business remained above 50 for the eighth consecutive month, but both readings were lower than in July. External demand dragged on growth in August, as new export business contracted for the first time since December,” Wang added.

AUD/USD reaction

Weak Chinese Services PMI adds to the bearish pressure on the Aussie Dollar, pushing AUD/USD further toward 0.6400. The major is trading at 0.6438, at the time of writing, down 0.28% on the day.