Official data from China’s National Bureau of Statistics showed on Sunday that the official PMI in the manufacturing sector registered 49.2, down from 51.9 in March, below the 50-point level that separates the expansion and contraction of activity on a monthly basis.
The reading came in below expectations of 51.4.
The world’s second-largest economy grew faster than expected in the first quarter of the year, driven by a liberalization of consumer demand after COVID-19 restrictions eased, but industrial production slowed amid weak global growth.
And at the end of March last year, official data showed a slowdown in the growth of manufacturing activity in China, which cast doubt on the strength of the recovery of the industrial sector in the world’s second largest economy.
As for the services sector, it was stronger and its activity grew at the fastest pace in nearly 12 years after the announced cancellation in December of China’s zero Covid policy which boosted transport, housing and construction.
According to China’s National Bureau of Statistics, the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for China’s manufacturing sector for March came in at 51.9, down from 52.6 in February.
Read the Latest World News Today on The Eastern Herald.
