The mood in Chinese industry cooled surprisingly sharply in April. This is according to the official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) published by the statistical authority. Accordingly, the value for manufacturing fell in April to 49.2 from 51.9 in the previous month.
The mood barometer was not only significantly weaker than economists had expected, but also fell below the threshold of 50 points for the first time since December. Values above 50 indicate growth, values below signal a deterioration in sentiment.
The non-manufacturing index, which measures activity in the service and construction sectors, among other things, fell to 56.4 in April from 58.2 in the previous month. Although the value is still clearly in the growth area, it also performed weaker than forecast by economists.
Experts explain the cooled mood in Chinese industry primarily with the overall weak global demand. This now threatens to slow down the country’s economic recovery after the end of the draconian “zero Covid” measures. In the first quarter of the current calendar year, the world’s second largest economy grew by an unexpectedly strong 4.5 percent compared to the same period last year.
