China’s manufacturing sector shrinks

China’s manufacturing sector shrank for the sixth month in a row in April, but the pace of contraction declined. Employment in China’s manufacturing sector continued to fall in April. The HSBC manufacturing PMI rose to 49.1 (from 48.3 in March) — a number below 50 indicates contraction. Qinwei Wang, China economist at Capital Economics, said: “The small increase will have disappointed anyone hoping for a clear signal that the economy is bottoming out.”

Slowing growth in China has fuelled fears that the world’s second-largest economy will not be in a position to drive a global recovery. The hope has been that while growth in de-veloped economies slows, the rising middle classes in China will drive demand for foreign goods. Last month, the Chinese government cut its growth target to 7.5%, the lowest figure since 2004.