China’s PMI is not a bad marker for global economic activity. That being said, a key measure of it, issued by HSBC, showed a rapid contraction in May.
The HSBC Purchasing Managers’ Index fell to 48.7, down from 49.3 in April.
“Manufacturing activities softened again in May, reflecting the deteriorating export situation. This calls for more aggressive policy easing, as inflation continues to slow,” HSBC’s chief China economist, Hongbin Qu, said in a statement.
Policy may not do the trick. Most of the economies in the European Union, the largest region in the world by GDP, are either in recession or close to it. And, China’s own middle class has reason to be concerned about both wages and jobs as factory production falters.
China’s GDP growth is now pegged by some economists to be as low as 8.2%. That is a surge by most measures, but not in China.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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