China's Caixin Manufacturing PMI contracts sharply to 48.1 in March, a big miss

China's March Caixin Manufacturing PMI came in at 48.1 vs. 49.7 expected and February’s 50.4, showing that the country’s business conditions deteriorated amidst that the latest covid outbreak last month.

Earlier on, China's official Manufacturing PMI contracted to 49.5 in March from 50.2 booked in February and against the 49.9 expected, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) reported on Thursday.