HSBC's China Flash PMI just printed above expectations at 51.7, disappointing those hoping for more stimulus but just Goldilocks enough to satisfy the world that China is firing on all cylinders... But, and there's always a but, the following chart suggests that the diffusion-driven survey-based PMI data may be just a little different from the hard data on the ground. Of course, everything could have magically turned around in the last 3 weeks (aside from Copper demand and PBoC repo/rev. repo that is). For now, we tip our hat to the well planned PMI print as indicative that all is well in the smog-ridden pig-barren nation but scratch our chin at just what is powering all this growthiness [5]...
HSBC's Flash PMI upticked more than expected but remains in that neverland zone...
[6]
and here are the stunning sub-indices showing the 'surges' - hhmm - employment? pricing? even New Export Orders are in 'fence-sitting' mode...
[7]
But when judged against the history of a relatively tight relationship to Electricity production... is it any wonder we call it the WTF Chart of the Day...
[8]
It seems we are about to witness a jump from -13% YoY decline (as we discussed here the largest ever [5]) to a +10% YoY rise in the span of just one month...
Charts: Bloomberg