Growth remains slow for China’s factories
CHINA’S industrial base is still growing at a very modest pace, according to a government survey of the manufacturing sector released yesterday.
The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for the sector in April came in at 50.4, marginally above the similarly slow growth recorded in March. Any figure above 50 indicates growth.
In contrast, HSBC and Markit’s PMI for China’s factories recorded a fourth month of contraction in April, after dreary figures all through the first quarter of the year.
Researchers from Bank of America suggest that the official figures are not strong enough to deliver the country’s 7.5 per cent growth target, saying that they expect the government to push for a “mini-stimulus”, using credit measures to offer the economy a boost.