China’s National Bureau of Statistics and the Confederation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP) jointly announced Wednesday that the official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), a leading macroeconomic indicator, rose to 51.9 in March, the highest in three months and above the Reuters poll’s median estimate of 51.2 and February’s 50.6. Reuters cited experts as the bright spot. According to an independent index released on Thursday, AFP said China’s manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level in 11 months in March, indicating a slowdown in the country’s recovery from the outbreak of the New Coronavirus (Chinese Communist virus). The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector, calculated by IHS Markit for media group Caixin, stood at 50.6 in March, after 50.9 in February.
According to a separate index released Thursday, Chinese manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level in 11 months in March, according to an AFP news release from Beijing today. It was the lowest level of the index since April 2020, when the Chinese economy was crippled by the Covid-19 Epidemic.
According to economist Wang Zhe, quoted by Caixin, the index’s decline indicates that “the recovery from the new Covidium virus epidemic continues to weaken.
AFP said the indicator contrasts with the official manufacturing activity index released Wednesday by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (SNB). The official figure said it stood at 51.9 points in March, compared to 50.6 points in February, the highest figure in three months.
According to Capitol Macro’s commentary, “Overall, the figures show a slight rebound in economic activity, but not a return to the rapid pace of growth seen last year.”
According to the same source, the Caixin index is more focused on small businesses and exports, which seems to indicate that the Chinese economy is now increasingly dependent on its domestic market. However, according to Caixin, the new export orders classification index entered positive territory in March for the first Time since the beginning of the year, an encouraging sign of foreign demand for Chinese factories.
However, the study showed that manufacturing employment fell for the fourth consecutive month, the report said.
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