The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for April registered at 50.3%, slightly lower than the previous month by 0.1 percentage points, yet it remained in expansion territory. The non-manufacturing Business Activity Index stood at 49.4%, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from the prior month. The Composite PMI Output Index was 50.1%, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous month but still above the critical threshold, indicating that China's overall economic output continued to expand.
The manufacturing PMI has remained above the 50-point mark for two consecutive months. In April, the index reflected generally stable conditions, with the manufacturing sector maintaining a favorable operating trend. Both production and demand continued to expand. The production index was 51.5%, while the new orders index was 50.6%, both staying above the expansion-contraction dividing line. Industries such as railway, ship, aerospace equipment, electrical machinery, and computer communication electronics equipment saw both production and new orders indices above 53.0%, indicating rapid release of output and demand. In contrast, sectors like petroleum, coal processing, and chemical raw materials had indices below the threshold, showing weaker market activity. Driven by continued expansion in production and demand, corporate purchasing willingness strengthened further, with the purchasing quantity index rising to 51.1%, up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month.
PMI readings for large, medium, and small enterprises all remained in expansion territory. The large enterprise PMI was 50.2%, staying above the critical point for the fifth consecutive month. The medium and small enterprise PMI readings were 50.5% and 50.1%, respectively, rising by 1.5 and 0.8 percentage points from the previous month, indicating a significant improvement in business sentiment.
Key sectors continued their expansion. The PMI for high-tech manufacturing and equipment manufacturing stood at 52.2% and 51.8%, up 0.1 and 0.3 percentage points from the prior month, reflecting sustained positive development. The consumer goods industry PMI was 50.7%, remaining in expansion territory. However, the energy-intensive industries PMI fell to 47.9%, down 1.0 percentage points, indicating a decline in sentiment.
Price indices remained elevated. Influenced by recent fluctuations in prices of some bulk commodities, the raw material purchase price index and the ex-factory price index were 63.7% and 55.1%, respectively, staying at relatively high levels compared to recent years, signaling a notable increase in overall manufacturing market prices. In sectors like petroleum, coal processing, and chemical raw materials, both price indices have been above 70.0% for two consecutive months, indicating continued price increases for raw material procurement and product sales.
Market expectations continued to strengthen. The production and business activity expectation index rose to 54.5%, up 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, marking the third consecutive monthly increase and reflecting growing confidence among manufacturing firms in near-term market development. Industries such as food, beverages, automobiles, and railway and aerospace equipment reported expectation indices above 58.0%, indicating high optimism.
The non-manufacturing Business Activity Index declined in April to 49.4%, down 0.7 percentage points, suggesting a decrease in non-manufacturing sector sentiment. The services industry PMI fell to 49.6%, a drop of 0.6 percentage points. Sectors including railway transport, postal services, and telecommunications reported business activity indices above 55.0%, indicating robust growth. However, wholesale, retail, and residential services sectors had indices below the critical point, reflecting weaker market activity. The services business expectation index rose to 55.4%, up 0.6 percentage points, entering a high-confidence range and indicating improved market confidence among services firms.
The construction sector PMI was 48.0%, down 1.3 percentage points, pointing to weaker sentiment. The construction business expectation index held steady at 50.5%, indicating stable near-term industry expectations.
The Composite PMI Output Index was 50.1% in April, down 0.4 percentage points but still above the threshold, showing that overall business production and operations in China continued to expand.