BEIJING Reuters -- China saw three months of decline in June as authorities lifted a strict lockdown in Shanghai, boosting growth in production and new orders while the rebound in the services sector pressed on.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index PMI rose to 50.2 in June from 49.6 in May, the National Bureau of Statistics NBS said on Thursday.
A Reuters poll said the PMI would come in at 50.5, above the 50 point mark that separates contraction from growth on a monthly basis.
In April and May, activity in China is gaining momentum due to the lengthy COVID lockdowns, but headwinds remain, including a still subdued property market, soft consumer spending and fear of any recurring waves of infections.
Shanghai, located at the heart of the Yangtze River Delta manufacturing area, ended a city-wide lock down on June 1, allowing small factories in the region to resume production. Social distancing rules, such as those on in-restaurant dining, were still in place throughout June.
A sub-index for production stood at 52.8, the highest since March 2021, while new orders returned to expansionary territory for the first time in four months, although growth remained weak.
Even though the manufacturing sector recovered this month, 49.3% of the companies reported that orders were insufficient, said Zhu Hong, senior statistician at NBS. Soft market demand is the main problem facing the manufacturing industry. After two years of record exports, Chinese manufacturers are struggling with high raw material prices, reduced profit margins, competition from overseas rivals and slowing global demand.
The PMI for non-manufacturing in June went up to 54.7 from 47.8 in May. The services industry enjoyed an impressive rebound in the last 13 months, with sectors that were hardest hit by COVID curbs catching up with previously depressed demand.
China's State Council recently announced a broad package of economic support measures in order to control growth and reduce unemployment. President Xi Jinping is poised to secure his third term in the 20th Party Congress this fall.
Analysts say that the official GDP target of around 5.5% for this year will be hard to achieve without abandoning the zero-COVID strategy.
Premier Li Keqiang vowed to achieve reasonable economic growth in the second quarter, although some private sector economists believe that the economy will shrink in April-June quarter from a year earlier, compared to the first quarter's 4.8% growth.
China's official composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, was 54.1, compared to 48.4 in May.