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A workshop of a glass company in Nanhe County, north China's Hebei Province, April 29, 2020. /Xinhua
China's official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged down to 50.8 in April from a record high of 52 in March due to weak recovery in demand as well as uncertainties in foreign trade market, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday.
A Reuters poll earlier expected the PMI to fall to 51 in April, rising for a second straight month.
The resumption of production steadily continued in April, with small, medium and large enterprises all on a recovery track, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.
The production index was 53.7 percent, 0.4 percentage points lower than last month. The employment index was 50.2 percent, increasing for two consecutive months.
The PMI of large and medium-sized enterprises was 51.1 percent and 50.2 percent respectively, down 1.5 and 1.3 percentage points from the previous month. Meanwhile the PMI of small enterprises was 51.0 percent, an increase of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, said Zhao.
Recovery in demand lags behind production
The recovery in demand is weaker than production, dragged by the coronavirus pandemic. The new orders index was 50.2 percent, down 1.8 percentage point than the previous month and lower than the production index.
Among the 21 industries surveyed, the new orders index in 15 industries such as textiles and chemical raw materials was lower than the production index, and the industry demand recovery lagged behind production, said Zhao.
The survey shows that 57.7 percent of companies said the orders are insufficient.Product sales are facing difficulties and replenishment will take time.
Uncertainties in foreign trade market
Uncertainty in the import and export market has increased. The spread of the pandemic has sharply contracted global economic activities. The new exports order index and imports index were 33.5 percent and 43.9 percent, down 12.9 and 4.5 percentage points from the previous month.
Some manufacturing companies reported a sharp decrease in newly signed export orders, and even orders that have already started production have been cancelled, said Zhao.
