China gauge shows manufacturing activity still shrinking: HSBC
China's manufacturing activity contracted at a slower pace in May, an HSBC survey showed Thursday, but companies cut back production and jobs despite government attempts to reinvigorate the world's second-largest economy.
The preliminary reading for the British banking giant's purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 49.1 for this month, improving from a final figure of 48.9 in April, it said in a statement.
The index, compiled by information services provider Markit, tracks activity in China's factories and workshops and is regarded as a barometer of the health of the Asian economic giant.
Thursday's figure marks the third consecutive month the index has been below the 50 point mark that separates contraction from growth.
The production sub-index fell for the first time this year, underlining deteriorating operating conditions, Annabel Fiddes, an economist at Markit, said in the statement.
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