China factory activity cools in April as recovery challenges loom

China factory activity cools in April as recovery challenges loom

China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in April, with the economy beset by a series of crises
China's manufacturing activity unexpectedly contracted in April, with the economy beset by a series of crises. Photo: STR / AFP/File
Source: AFP

PAY ATTENTION: Enjoy reading our stories? Join YEN.com.gh's Telegram channel for more!

China's manufacturing activity contracted in April, official figures showed Sunday, due to slack global demand and a slow domestic recovery after lifting Covid-related curbs.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) -- a key gauge of Chinese factory output -- fell to 49.2 in April from 51.9 in March, and below the 50-point mark that separates expansion and contraction in activity, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

Analysts polled by Bloomberg News had expected April factory activity to come at 51.4.

The drop comes after February recorded the highest reading in more than a decade as factories returned to normal following a surge in Covid cases.

China's economy grew 4.5 percent in the first three months of the year as the country reopened after dropping strict health controls that helped keep the coronavirus in check but battered businesses and supply chains.

Read also

ExxonMobil reports that Q1 profits double to $11.4 bn

But the world's second-largest economy is also beset by a series of other crises, from a debt-laden property sector to flagging consumer confidence, global inflation, the threat of recession elsewhere, and geopolitical tensions with the United States.

PAY ATTENTION: Follow us on Instagram - get the most important news directly in your favourite app!

The official non-manufacturing PMI, which measures growth in the services and construction sectors, fell to 56.4 from 58.2 in March.

The March reading was the highest since May 2011, as the country saw a surge in demand for travel, entertainment and other leisure services that were curbed for nearly three years during the pandemic.

The government has set a comparatively modest growth target of around five percent this year, a goal Premier Li Qiang has warned could be hard to achieve.

Source: AFP

Authors:
AFP avatar

AFP AFP text, photo, graphic, audio or video material shall not be published, broadcast, rewritten for broadcast or publication or redistributed directly or indirectly in any medium. AFP news material may not be stored in whole or in part in a computer or otherwise except for personal and non-commercial use. AFP will not be held liable for any delays, inaccuracies, errors or omissions in any AFP news material or in transmission or delivery of all or any part thereof or for any damages whatsoever. As a newswire service, AFP does not obtain releases from subjects, individuals, groups or entities contained in its photographs, videos, graphics or quoted in its texts. Further, no clearance is obtained from the owners of any trademarks or copyrighted materials whose marks and materials are included in AFP material. Therefore you will be solely responsible for obtaining any and all necessary releases from whatever individuals and/or entities necessary for any uses of AFP material.