This undated photo captures a technician at work on the production line of a Lenovo venture in Hefei, capital of East China's Anhui province. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

BEIJING - The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51 in May, slightly down from 51.1 in April, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

The May purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector remained in the expansion zone, indicating that the country's manufacturing sector continued its steady growth, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed

The May PMI is higher than the same period in 2019 and 2020 and is indicative of China’s steady economic growth, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

ALSO READ: China's manufacturing PMI edges down to 51.1 in April

The sub-index for production stood at 52.7 in May, up 0.5 percentage points from April, signaling a faster pace of recovery in the sector.

In a sign of slower growth in demand, the sub-index for new orders slid 0.7 percentage points from that in April to 51.3, while that for new export orders edged down to 48.3 from 50.4.

The sub-index for new export orders fell into the contraction zone, mirroring a reduction of foreign orders compared with a month earlier, Zhao said.

Due to the climbing prices of global commodities, the index measuring purchase prices of major raw materials rose 5.9 percentage points from April to 72.8, while the ex-factory price index climbed to 60.6, up 3.3 percentage points from last month.

Faced with price hikes in bulk commodities, China has moved fast and tailored measures to fend off rising raw material costs and stabilize the market, assuaging worries among manufacturers.

In an effort to ensure supplies of bulk commodities, the country has adopted a zero-tolerance attitude on irregularities, introduced provisional favorable tax policies and tightened regulation on commodity futures trading. 

Non-manufacturing PMI up

Monday's data also showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 55.2 in May, up 0.3 percentage points from the April figure.

The expansion reflects a faster recovery in the services sector as epidemic control efforts paid off and consumption demand continued to increase boosted by the Labor Day holiday, Zhao said.

In May, the sub-index for business activities in the services sector stood at 54.3, down 0.1 percentage points from that in April.

READ MORE: Services PMI on recovery path

In breakdown, the sub-indexes for business activities in railway and air transportation, accommodation, telecommunications and satellite transmission as well as culture, sports and entertainment came in at above 60, indicating rapid growth of business volume in these sectors.

The sub-index tracking business activity expectations for the services sector hit 62.4, remaining above 62 for four consecutive months, showing most service enterprises are optimistic about the market in the future.

NBS data pointed to stronger performances in China's construction industry as construction activities picked up, with the sub-index for business activities rising to 60.1 in May, up 2.7 percentage points from April.