China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector reached 50.4 in April, showed data from  the National Bureau of Statistics, remaining in the expansion zone for the second consecutive month. 

The figure, a slight decrease from 50.8 the previous month, consolidated expanding activity after the reading in March had ended a five-month contraction.

Enterprise production continued to accelerate in April, with the subindex for production up 0.7 to 52.9, the highest since April 2023.

The subindex gauging new orders was 51.1 in April. Despite falling from 53.0 a month ago, it was still above the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. The subindex for new export orders was 50.6, down 0.7 month on month.

The two subindexes indicate the overall demand for the manufacturing sector has continued to recover, said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician of the NBS.

"The new order index and new export order index for industries including automobiles and electrical machinery and equipment are both above 53, indicating domestic and foreign market demand in related industries has increased."

The Caixin PMI for the manufacturing sector, mainly covering small and medium-sized enterprises, reached 51.4 in April, up from 51.1 the previous month, marking the fastest pace since February 2023.

The non-manufacturing PMI stood at 51.2, marking a 1.8 decrease from March, the NBS data showed. The figure was dragged down by a 2.1 fall in the service sector, reaching 50.3. Zhao also pointed out business activity remained weak in the capital and property industries.

The construction sector, whose PMI reached 56.3, a little higher than 56.2 the month prior, maintained high activity over the month, suggesting an optimistic outlook, according to Zhao.

(Writing by Alex Guo  Editing by Harry Huo)
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