China manufacturing PMI remains unchanged in May, official data shows

Chinese manufacturing activity growth remain unchanged in May, according to official data on Wednesday.

The National Bureau of Statistics said its China manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 50.1 in May, unchanged from the previous month but slightly better than the reading of 50.0 economists were expecting. A reading above 50 signals an expansion in sector activity while a level below that indicates a contraction.

China’s official non-manufacturing PMI fell to 53.1 in May from 53.5 a month earlier.

Separately, the private Caixin China manufacturing PMI dropped to 49.2 in May from 49.4 in April, as expected, marking the 15th consecutive month of contraction. It was the lowest figure since February.

“The manufacturing number for China was awful and the economic picture will become even more ugly if the Chinese Caxin Non-Manufacturing services number (which is due tomorrow) also confirms that the economy is on the verge of a major slowdown,” said ThinkForex analyst Naeem Aslam.