Posted on 07 Jun 2024
The global manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) continued to struggle in the contraction zone for a second month during May, with index compiler the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing (CFLP) calculating the index at 49.8, edging down by 0.1 point from April, the CFLP declared in a release on June 6.
Last month, manufacturing industries in Asia remained stable overall, with the manufacturing PMI staying above 51 for the third consecutive month to land at 51.1, though this was lower by 0.4 point from that for the month before.
As for the major countries in Asia, the manufacturing PMI in China fell below the threshold of 50 in May, even though production kept expanding. On the other hand, the manufacturing sector in India maintained fast growth last month, as its manufacturing PMI was still at a high of 57.5, despite the on-month fall of 1.3 points, the CFLP release showed.
For May, the manufacturing PMI in Japan increased by 0.8 point on month to 50.4, while the manufacturing sectors of major ASEAN countries also continued expanding, according to the CFLP.
On the other hand, after staying above 49 for the previous five months, the manufacturing PMI for Africa's major economies dipped slightly during May to 48.8, down 1.9 points on month, due to the significant fall in the growth of manufacturing in South Africa, the release showed.
The European manufacturing PMI increased by 1.3 points from the previous month to reach 49 in May, marking the highest since February 2023, as the PMIs of major countries in the region rose by varying degrees compared with the previous month, suggesting that Europe's economy is showing some signs of recovery.
Meanwhile, the manufacturing PMI for the Americas registered 49.1 in May, staying below 50 for the second month and down by another 0.6 point from April. Last month, the manufacturing PMIs in the United States, Brazil and Canada all declined compared with those for April, according to the CFLP data.
For the first five months of this year, the global manufacturing PMI averaged 49.7, and though this was an improvement compared with the same period last year, the data was still lower compared with the average for January-May 2019.
In Thursday's release however, the CFLP warned that geopolitical conflicts, uncertainties surrounding economic and trade policies of different countries, and the pressure of debt troubles and inflation worldwide are still the factors disturbing the recovery in the global economy and trade.
Source:Mysteel Global
