Guangzhou (JLC), June 2, 2026--China's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) extended drops in May 2026, according to the latest data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on May 31.
The manufacturing PMI came in at 50.0% in May, right at the critical point that separates growth from contraction. It was down 0.3 percentage points from April.
A breakdown of May's manufacturing PMI showed that the sub-index for production stood at 51.2%, a month-on-month decrease of 0.3 percentage points, the NBS data indicated.
On the demand side, the sub-index for new orders settled at 49.9%, down 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.
Meanwhile, the sub-index for raw material inventories reached 48.6%, down 0.7 percentage points from the prior month; the sub-index for employment fell by 0.2 percentage points month on month to 48.6%, while that for distributor delivery time went down by 0.3 percentage points to 49.2%.
China's non-manufacturing commercial index came in at 50.1% last month, up 0.7 percentage points from April, the NBS data also showed.
The commercial activity index for construction stood at 48.8%, up 0.8 percentage points month on month, while that for services rose by 0.7 percentage points to 50.3%.
The commercial activity indexes for railway transportation, telecommunications, broadcasting, television and satellite transmission services, as well as insurance were above 55.0% in May, suggesting relatively high prosperity for these sectors.
In contrast, the indexes for air transportation and real estate were below the threshold, the NBS said.
