China manufacturing improves slightly

@CNNMoney April 23, 2012: 8:03 AM ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- China's manufacturing sector contracted in April, but not as much as in the previous month, according to a preliminary survey of purchasing managers released Monday.

HSBC's flash index rose to 49.1 in April from 48.3 the previous month. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction of the manufacturing sector.

Among report components, HSBC said employment and manufacturing output continued to contract, but not as quickly as in March.

The report shows that the Chinese economy won't slow as rapidly as some analysts have feared, according to Hongbin Qu, HSBC's chief economist for China.

"That said, the pace of both growth and demand output remains at a low level in a historical context and the job market is under pressure," Qu noted in the report.

Qu advocated further economic easing by the Chinese government. To top of page

Overnight Avg Rate Latest Change Last Week
30 yr fixed3.80%3.88%
15 yr fixed3.20%3.23%
5/1 ARM3.84%3.88%
30 yr refi3.82%3.93%
15 yr refi3.20%3.23%
Rate data provided
by Bankrate.com
View rates in your area
 
Find personalized rates:
Economic Calendar
Latest ReportNext Update
Home pricesAug 28
Consumer confidenceAug 28
GDPAug 29
Manufacturing (ISM)Sept 4
JobsSept 7
Inflation (CPI)Sept 14
Retail sales Sept 14
  • -->

    Most stock quote data provided by BATS. Market indices are shown in real time, except for the DJIA, which is delayed by two minutes. All times are ET. Disclaimer. Morningstar: © 2018 Morningstar, Inc. All Rights Reserved. Factset: FactSet Research Systems Inc. 2018. All rights reserved. Chicago Mercantile Association: Certain market data is the property of Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. and its licensors. All rights reserved. Dow Jones: The Dow Jones branded indices are proprietary to and are calculated, distributed and marketed by DJI Opco, a subsidiary of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC and have been licensed for use to S&P Opco, LLC and CNN. Standard & Poor's and S&P are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services LLC and Dow Jones is a registered trademark of Dow Jones Trademark Holdings LLC. All content of the Dow Jones branded indices © S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC 2018 and/or its affiliates.