China Caixin Manufacturing PMI

The Caixin China General Manufacturing PMI rose to 50.7 in May 2020 from 49.4 in the previous month and beating market consensus of 49.6. This was the highest reading since January as COVID-19 led restrictions eased, with output growing the most since January 2011 and buying levels increasing slightly. Meantime, demand conditions remained subdued largely due to a notable fall in export orders. Also, firms continued to trim their staff numbers while backlogs of works declined for the first time since February 2016. Encouragingly, supplier performance was broadly stable after travel restrictions and low supply levels hindered vendor performance in prior months. Prices data showed input cost fell for the third month in a row, with factory gate being little-changed following a three-month period of discounting. Looking ahead, business sentiment picked up, amid hopes of a global economic rebound once the pandemic situation improves.