Investing.com - The semi-official CFLP manufacturing PMI in China for May came in a bit higher than expected at 50.1, unchanged from the previous month.
The Caixin manufacturing PMI came in at 49.2, below the 49.3 expected, and down from the previous 49.4, the second monthly decline.
"Readings for the output and new order categories fell again, but employment improved slightly. Overall, China's economy has not been able to sustain the recovery it had in the first quarter and is in the process of bottoming out. The government still needs to make full use of proactive fiscal policy measures accompanied by prudent monetary policy to prevent the economy from slowing further," said Caixin Insight Group chief economist He Fan.
The manufacturing PMI jointly released by the China Federation of Logistics and the Purchasing and National Bureau of Statistics said in an accompanying statement that the PMI headline number has remained slightly above 50 for several months, suggesting that the economy has established a bottom with smaller downside room and that the recovery momentum is gaining speed.
But CFLP said a worsening oversupply issue is also hurting business expectations, with the sub-index falling sharply to 55.9 in May from April's 60.3.
The non-manufacturing PMI for May from CFLP came in at 53.1, down from 53.5 the previous month.