Zhou Hao, senior emerging markets economist at Commerzbank in Singapore, said the manufacturing PMI is at its lowest level in three years.
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But the Purchasing Managers Index, a gauge of activity in the manufacturing sector, fell 0.2 percentage points to 49.6 points.
The board of the International Monetary Fund is widely expected to include the yuan in its Special Drawing Rights (SDR) basket at a meeting later in the day.
The manufacturing sector in China continued to contract in November, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from Caixin showed on Tuesday with a PMI score of 48.6.
Brent crude oil, the global benchmark, fell 0.3% to $44.50 a barrel.
Asian shares were solidly higher on Tuesday, shrugging off one Chinese factory survey that did little to ease persistent concerns about cooling growth in the economy, while a private survey showed a hint of stabilisation. In the onshore market, the People’s Bank of China set the midpoint rate at 6.3962 per dollar prior to market open, 0.07 percent weaker than the previous fix 6.3915.
The euro traded at $1.0583, down 0.1 percent on Monday and 3.8 percent on the month, edging near a seven-month low of $1.0565 touched on Wednesday. The index is based on a 100-point scale, with the 50-point mark separating expansion from contraction.
The offshore Chinese yuan was last at 6.4318 against the US dollar, 0.1% weaker than late Monday in Asia.
Against the yen, the dollar edged up slightly to 123.14. South Korea’s Kospi rose 1.5 per cent to 2,021.05 and Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 added 1.8 per cent to 5,258.30.
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Six central bank interest rate cuts in a year haven’t been enough to spur a recovery in manufacturing.
