Output contracts at quickest pace in 18 months during March. Key points ƒÞ Flash China Manufacturing PMI. at 48.1 in March (48.5 in February). Eight-month low. ƒÞ Flash China Manufacturing Output Index at 47.3 in March (48.8 in February). Eighteen-month low. Data collected 12¡V20 March 2014. Commenting on the Flash China Manufacturing PMI survey, Hongbin Qu, Chief Economist, China & Co- Head of Asian Economic Research at HSBC said: “The HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI reading for March suggests that China’s growth momentum continued to slow down. Weakness is broadly-based with domestic demand softening f ... (full story)