The official China manufacturing PMI dropped 0.1 to 51.4 in April, slightly above expectation of 51.3. Non-manufacturing PMI rose 0.2 to 54.8, above expectation of 54.5.
In its quick China Data Response note, Capital Economics noted that “the official manufacturing PMI points to economic conditions having remained healthy in April. However, it warned of ” headwinds from the property sector and slower credit growth building.” Additionally, it’s also noted that the official PMIs have history of providing “false signals” in the past.
Instead, the Caixin manufacturing PMI to be released on Wednesday “tends to be better correlated with cyclical trends in the sector and will give us a better idea of how the economy has performed recently”.
