Following China's great-and-terrible manufacturing PMI data overnight, Markit's US manufacturing index surge to 9-month highs, printing at the expected 52.9 led by faster growth of output, new orders, and employment. However, in true Chinese-style, US ISM Manufacturing missed expectations (52.6 vs 53.0) with new orders and employment dropping.

So take your pick!

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New Orders fading in SA ansd NSA ISM data... but rising in PMI...

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As Markit notes,

“The stronger manufacturing PMI survey data for July fuel hopes that the sector will act as less of drag on the economy in the third quarter after a disappointing first half of the year.

“Having signalled the sector’s worst performance for over six years in the second quarter, contributing to a sluggishness in the economy that was later seen in the soft GDP numbers, the improvement in July suggests that manufacturers and exporters will have helped lift the economy at the start of the third quarter.

“Job creation has also picked up, hopefully in a sign that producers are seeing a brighter picture, coping with a strong dollar and having put the worst of the energy sector’s restructuring behind them.”

So July looks good - time for a rate hike?

Charts: Bloomberg