China’s strong economic momentum eased slightly in May, as surging raw material prices squeezed profits, businesses turned more cautious and property and car sales underperformed.
That’s the outlook of an aggregate index combining eight early indicators tracked by Bloomberg, which slipped from April but remained in expansionary territory, underpinned by solid export demand.
Confidence among SMEs eased in May from the highest level since the Covid-19 outbreak in the previous month, according to a survey of more than 500 companies by Standard Chartered.
The index measuring current performance weakened in the month, while a drop in the ‘expectations’ sub-index points to concerns on future demand and profit margins.
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