China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 50.3% in April, reflecting a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month. The data indicates that the manufacturing sector maintained a generally stable level of expansion.

By enterprise size, the PMI for large enterprises was 50.2%, down 1.4 percentage points from March but still above the 50% threshold that separates expansion from contraction. Medium and small enterprises recorded PMI readings of 50.5% and 50.1%, respectively, rising by 1.5 and 0.8 percentage points from the prior month, both remaining in expansion territory.

Among the five sub-indices composing the manufacturing PMI, the production index and new orders index stayed above the 50% mark, while the raw materials inventory index, employment index, and supplier delivery time index remained below 50%.

The production index came in at 51.5%, up 0.1 percentage points from March, signaling a modest acceleration in manufacturing output. The new orders index registered 50.6%, down 1.0 percentage points from the previous month but still in expansionary territory, indicating continued growth in market demand. The raw materials inventory index rose to 49.3%, up 1.6 percentage points, suggesting a notable narrowing in the decline of key raw material stocks.

The employment index improved to 48.8%, up 0.2 percentage points, reflecting a recovery in hiring sentiment among manufacturers. The supplier delivery time index remained unchanged at 49.5%, below the expansion threshold, indicating a further lengthening of delivery times from suppliers.

In the non-manufacturing sector, the business activity index fell to 49.4% in April, down 0.7 percentage points from March, pointing to a decline in non-manufacturing business confidence.

By sector, the construction business activity index dropped to 48.0%, down 1.3 percentage points, while the services business activity index decreased to 49.6%, down 0.6 percentage points. Within the services sector, industries such as railway transport, postal services, and telecommunications registered business activity indices above 55.0%, indicating strong expansion. In contrast, wholesale, retail, and residential services sectors remained in contraction territory.

The new orders index for non-manufacturing fell to 44.3%, down 0.7 percentage points, signaling weaker market demand. The construction new orders index dropped to 41.6%, down 1.9 percentage points, while the services new orders index declined to 44.8%, down 0.5 percentage points.

The input price index for non-manufacturing stood at 51.7%, down 0.6 percentage points but still above the expansion line, indicating continued increases in input costs. The construction input price index rose to 54.9%, up 2.2 percentage points, while the services input price index fell to 51.2%, down 1.0 percentage points.

The selling price index dropped to 48.1%, down 1.8 percentage points, reflecting a general decline in selling prices across non-manufacturing sectors. The construction selling price index fell to 49.0%, down 0.3 percentage points, while the services selling price index decreased to 47.9%, down 2.1 percentage points.

The non-manufacturing employment index improved to 45.5%, up 0.3 percentage points, indicating a slight recovery in hiring sentiment. The construction employment index rose to 39.6%, up 0.5 percentage points, while the services employment index increased to 46.5%, up 0.3 percentage points.

The business expectations index climbed to 54.7%, up 0.5 percentage points, suggesting growing confidence among non-manufacturing firms regarding future market conditions. The construction business expectations index held steady at 50.5%, while the services business expectations index rose to 55.4%, up 0.6 percentage points.

The composite PMI output index, which covers both manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity, registered 50.1% in April, down 0.4 percentage points from the previous month but still above the expansion threshold, indicating that overall business activity in China continued to expand.