Investing.com - China’s factory activity in May contracted more than expected amid the ongoing trade dispute with the U.S.
The official manufacturing PMI fell to 49.4 from 50.1 in April, the National Bureau of Statistics showed. Analysts previously expected the figure to drop to 49.9 in May.
A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
The non-manufacturing PMI for May was 54.3, in line with expectation and unchanged from April.
The PMI is closely watched by investors who are paying close attention for signs of slowing growth amid the ongoing trade war between the U.S. and China.
Former governor of the People’s Bank of China Dai Xianglong said on Friday that he expected no major trade breakthrough when Chinese President Xi Jinping meets with his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump next month at the G-20 meeting.
“The fall in the headline index was mostly driven by weaker new orders. Export orders dropped back particularly sharply, which suggests that [US President Donald] Trump’s latest tariff hike may already be undermining foreign demand,” said Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, in a Bloomberg report.
The Caixin manufacturing PMI, which features a bigger mix of small- and medium-sized firms, is due on June 3.