China Dec Manufacturing PMI 49.0 (vs. 49.5 expected) & Services 50.4 (50.5 expected)

China's Manufacturing PMI from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) for December has come in at its third straight month of contraction at 49.0, much worse than was expectedfrom 49.5 expected and 49.4 in NovemberServices at 50.4, a slight miss50.5 expected and 50.2 in NovemberComposite is 50.3, from 50.4 in November.The private Caixin factory survey will be issued on Tuesday:China has two primary Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) surveys - the official PMI released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) and the Caixin China PMI published by the media company Caixin and research firm Markit / S&P Global.The official PMI survey covers large and state-owned companies, while the Caixin PMI survey covers small and medium-sized enterprises. As a result, the Caixin PMI is considered to be a more reliable indicator of the performance of China's private sector.Another difference between the two surveys is their methodology. The Caixin PMI survey uses a broader sample of companies than the official survey.Despite these differences, the two surveys often provide similar readings on China's manufacturing sector.During last week were comments from the head of the NDRC:China's 'state planner' on measures to expand domestic demand, promote stable growthAs I said in that post, efforts at boosting the economy appear to be getting some pay off:China's November Industrial Profits rebound with 29.5% y/y Growth--ps. Here's an interesting piece from Reuters for some holiday reading:How China talked markets out of a run on the yuan This article was written by Eamonn Sheridan at www.forexlive.com.