China’s PMI suffers surprise decline in April despite Beijing’s stimulus efforts

China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell in April, suggesting Beijing’s stimulus is having muted impact on the economy

Manufacturing PMI fell to 50.1 in April, while non-manufacturing PMI fell to 54.3, both missing analysts’ higher expectations

Reading Time:4 minutes

The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 50.1 in April, a decrease on March’s performance of 50.5. Photos: Reuters

Published: 9:10am, 30 Apr 2019Updated: 10:57pm, 30 Apr 2019

China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell in April, suggesting the economy is continuing to battle headwinds of the trade war with the United States and sluggish demand.

The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a gauge of sentiment among factory operators, fell to 50.1 in April, a decrease on March’s performance of 50.5, and below the median expectations of a poll of Bloomberg analysts, which had predicted an unchanged reading of 50.5.

Non-manufacturing PMI, which covers the services and construction sectors, fell to 54.3, down from 54.8 last month. This was also behind Bloomberg’s poll, which forecast 54.9.

An index reading above 50 is indicative of growth, while anything below 50 is a contraction. While both metrics remained above contraction levels, they point to continued challenges facing China’s economy.

The new data, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), comes despite stronger than expected gross domestic product figures for the first quarter of 2019, when it expanded by 6.4 per cent year-on-year, the same rate as in the fourth quarter of 2018, beating economists’ forecasts for a deceleration to 6.3 per cent.

Select Voice

Choose your listening speed

Get through articles 2x faster

1.25x

250 WPM

Slow

Average

Fast

00:0000:00

1.25x