CXSE - China factory activity contraction deepens to a five-month low of 48.8 in May to shore up a patchy economic recovery

2023-05-31 02:41:21 ET

• The official NBS Manufacturing PMI unexpectedly fell to a five-month low of 48.8 in May of 2023 from 49.2 in April, missing market estimates of 49.4.

• The latest print also pointed to the second straight month of contraction in factory activity, amid weak domestic and global demand.

• The readings pushed markets in Asia into the red .

• The NBS Services PMI dropped to 54.5 in May, compared with a solid 56.4 figure reported in April and beating expectations of 50.7.

• This saw overall Chinese business activity, represented by the composite PMI, fall to 52.9 in May from 54.4 in the prior month.

• China's economy is emerging from three years of pandemic lockdowns, but the recovery has been uneven with services spending outperforming activity in the factory, property and export-oriented sectors.

• "The sluggish domestic demand could weigh on China's sustainable growth, if there are no efficient and effective policy moves to engineer a broad-based recovery," said Bruce Pang, chief economist at Jones Lang LaSalle.

• ETFs: ( FXI ), ( KWEB ), ( CQQQ ), ( MCHI ), ( ASHR ), ( YINN ), ( TDF ), ( CHIQ ), ( GXC ), ( EWH ), ( KBA ), ( YANG ), ( CXSE ), ( CAF ), ( CWEB ), ( PGJ ), ( KURE ), ( CHIX ), ( CYB ).

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