The industry of China disappoints expectations. For the fifth consecutive month there is a contraction in thePMI manufacturing index calculated by HSBC in collaboration with Markit, which is based on a survey of sector purchasing managers. Due to the weakening on both fronts of production and orders, the preliminary reading for March marks a result of 48,1 points (the lowest level for eight months), from 48,5 in February. The market had instead expected a rise to 48,7 points.
The datum therefore remains below the threshold of 50 points, which marks the boundary between expansion and contraction. Analysts attribute the weakness of the index more to the slowdown of the domestic economy than to the trend of the global one.
"The flash reading of the March manufacturing PMI suggests that China's growth continues to slow," said Hongbin Qu, chief economist at HSBC. The weakness is essentially due to a further weakening of domestic demand. We expect Beijing to launch a series of measures to stabilize growth."
