The Day at a Glance | March 1 2023

• February PMI`s in China exceeded expectations. 

• In Mexico, the INEGI`s business confidence indicator for the manufacturing sector logged a 1.8 point increase in February and set at 52.0. 

• Consumer confidence in the US (Conference Board) logged a decrease in February (from 107.1 prev. to 102.9). The decline was mainly explained by a deterioration in expectations regarding future conditions; while, at the same time, the current perception of conditions increased to 152.8 points (+1.7), its highest level since April of 2022. 

• The Richmond Federal Reserve`s manufacturing index recorded its worst reading since May of 2020 by dropping to -16 units. For its part, the services sector`s indicator logged a slight improvement, although it remained in contractionary territory (from -10 in January to -6 in February). 

• Banxico will present its October-December 2022 Quarterly Report at 12:30 Mexico City time. 

Economic environment 

Chinese PMI`s continued recovering through February. On Tuesday night (local time), China’s PMI`s were made known and showed a clear recovery in the country`s economy after leaving behind anti-Covid restrictions and overcoming the initial waves of contagion following the resumption of activity. With this, the manufacturing index increased to 52.6 points, its highest level since April of 2012. For its part, the services PMI reached a level of 56.3 units, tying the recent maximum record logged in March 2021. With this, the composite index reached its highest reading since 2017 (56.4 points). It`s important to consider that, although seasonal factors and extraordinary events had a significant impact on these figures, the overall reading still reflects a vigorous recovery at the beginning of 2023. In addition, China`s government is expected to implement more policies to boost the recovery. Additionally, Caixin’s manufacturing PMI increased to 51.6 points.