2 Feb 2013 by Jim Fickett.
Yesterday both the government and the private PMI came out for China. The two measures often diverge, and are giving widely different readings at present. The HSBC PMI is near its long-term average, indicating normal growth. The government PMI is barely above 50, indicating stagnation. Taking both into account suggests (1) we may be seeing growth, but probably not strong growth, and (2) one should not put too much weight on this indicator until a clearer picture emerges.