China manufacturing PMI ticks up more than expected - Caixin

Activity in China's manufacturing sector grew in May at the fastest rate in two years, according to data released on Monday.

The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 51.7 from 51.4 in April, hitting its highest level since June 2022 and coming in ahead of consensus expectations of 51.5.

A reading above 50.0 signals expansion while a reading below indicates contraction.

Wang Zhe, an economist at Caixin Insight Group, said: "Both supply and demand expanded amid the upturn. Growth in manufacturers’ output reached a 23-month high in May, with particularly strong increases in consumption goods production."

Capital Economics said: "Interestingly, this is somewhat the opposite of what was seen last week with the NBS manufacturing PMI, which unexpectedly dropped to 49.5 from 50.4, thus falling into contractionary territory.

"The Caixin figure has generally been stronger than its official NBS counterpart, and the two figures do not always follow one another on a monthly basis."