China’s official Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) eased to 49.1 in February from the previous reading of 49.2, the latest data published by the country’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Friday. Markets expected a 49.1 readout in the reported month.

The NBS Non-Manufacturing PMI improved to 51.4 in February versus 50.7 in January, stronger than the estimation of 50.8.

Market reaction

At the time of writing, the AUD/USD pair is trading around 0.6505, up 0.09% on the day.