Chinese Factory Output Dips and ends at 50.0 for March
China’s manufacturing sector, accounting for a third of the nation’s economy, lost momentum in March amid still-weak export orders, reports Reuters.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) fell to 50.0 in March. That followed February’s reading of 51.6, which indicated the first monthly activity expansion in seven months.
The survey results were below expectations of 51.7 in a Reuters poll and echoed slower growth in an official PMI report. The 50-point index mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.
China’s economy showed signs of a recovery in the first two months of the year, led by a pickup in services after the end of three years of strict Covid policies that had disrupted commerce and muzzled domestic demand.
