China’s factory activity fell back slightly in May, highlighting the challenges it faces while the recovery from coronavirus lockdown is continuing, according to new data released on Sunday, reported the South China Morning Post.
Export orders for Chinese manufacturers kept shrinking and the data suggests factory jobs may also continue to fall.
The National Bureau of Statistics’ (NBS) manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), an indicator of morale among the nation’s larger factories, stood at 50.6 in May, a slight drop from 50.8 in April. May’s export orders stood at 35.3, up slightly from 33.5 in April but still indicating shrinking foreign demand.
Activity in China’s services sector, however, expanded at a faster clip in May, suggesting business and consumer confidence may slowly be improving.
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