(Bloomberg) -- The first official gauge of China’s manufacturing sector fell in April, signaling that the economic stabilization seen in the first quarter remains fragile.
- The manufacturing purchasing managers index stood at 50.1, down from 50.5 last month, while the non-manufacturing PMI -- a gauge of services and construction -- stood at 54.3 versus 54.8.
Key Insights
- New orders softened to 51.4 from 51.6, while new export orders recovered to 49.2, still in contraction but much higher than in the first three months of 2019. Click for a full breakdown here.
- “New export orders is a sliver lining,” said Raymond Yeung, chief China economist at Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. in Hong Kong. “With a strong first quarter GDP, growth doesn’t seem to be a big concern, and a number above 50 is already a good start for the second quarter,” he said.
- Economists had expected the the data to be basically unchanged from March, when the factory gauge rebounded over the reading of 50 and back into expansion territory
- That comes after a stronger-than-expected first quarter, when gross domestic product expanded 6.4 percent and industrial output jumped 8.5 percent
- “The government should keep fiscal stimulus and monetary easing in place,” said Iris Pang, an economist at ING Bank N.V. in Hong Kong.
(Updates with economists’ comments, chart.)
