Recently released March PMI data shows that the prosperity of both manufacturing and non-manufacturing industries has improved simultaneously, and the manufacturing PMI has returned to the expansion zone, demonstrating the momentum of economic recovery. Specifically, the March manufacturing PMI was 50.4%, an increase of 1.4 percentage points from the previous month; the non-manufacturing PMI was 50.1%, an increase of 0.6 percentage points; the composite PMI output index was 50.5%, an increase of 1.0 percentage point, and all three indices showed a positive recovery trend.

In the manufacturing sector, the simultaneous expansion of supply and demand has become the biggest highlight. The new orders and production indices rose to 51.4% and 51.6% respectively, both entering the expansion zone. Among them, the new orders index improved by 3.0 percentage points month-on-month, and the “new orders-production” index turned positive for the first time in nearly four years, with the “strong supply and weak demand” pattern showing marginal improvement. External demand showed resilience, with the new export orders index improving by 4.1 percentage points month-on-month, echoing the double-digit growth in exports at the beginning of the year.

At the industry level, the high-tech manufacturing PMI has been in the expansion zone for 20 consecutive months, the equipment manufacturing and consumer goods industries have returned to the expansion zone, and the production of basic raw material industries has stabilized. The operation of large, medium and small enterprises has improved. Large enterprises have played a role as a cornerstone, and small and medium-sized enterprises have gradually stabilized. It should be noted that affected by the geopolitical conflicts in the Middle East, the purchase price of raw materials has risen sharply, which may put certain pressure on the profits of midstream and downstream enterprises.