The official gauge of China’s manufacturing activity fell deeper into contraction in May, signaling further cooling of momentum in the post-pandemic recovery.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 48.8 in May, from 49.2 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday.
The result was also below the 49.7 expected by economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal. It marked the second month in a row that the reading fell below the 50 mark, which separates activity expansion from contraction.
The production subindex production fell to 49.6 in May from 50.2 in April. Total new orders fell to 48.3 in May from 48.8, while new export orders slid to 47.2 in May from 47.6.
Meanwhile, China’s nonmanufacturing PMI, which covers both service and construction activity, also fell–to 54.5 in May from 56.4 in April, the statistics bureau said.
The subindex tracking service activity declined to 53.8 in May, down from 55.1 in April, while the construction subindex fell to 58.2 from 63.9.