For the 6th month in a row, China HSBC Manufacturing PMI missed expectations. With a 48.1 print for April (vs 48.3 flash) this is a very modest rise from March’s 48.0 but is the 4th month in a row of contraction for the broader-based HSBC-version of the PMI (as opposed to the official more-SOE-biased version which remains in modest expansion). This is the longest streak of contraction since Oct 2012 (and the 3rd consecutive month of new order contraction) as employment drops for the 6th month in a row.