China's manufacturing activity expanded for the first time in three months in May as strong new orders boosted production, survey results from S&P Global revealed on Thursday.
The Caixin manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index picked up to 50.9 in May from 49.5 in April. The reading was forecast to remain unchanged at 49.5. The latest reading was above the neutral 50.0 level, suggesting the first improvement in the health of the manufacturing sector since February. Moreover, this was stronger than the post-pandemic average.
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May 15, 2026 15:25 ET Apart from the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as the next Fed chair, the main news on the economics front this week included key price data from the U.S. and the first quarter economic growth figures from major economies. Both consumer prices and producer costs have started to reflect the effect of supply shocks due to the Middle East conflict. In Europe, GDP data was in focus, while inflation data from China dominated the news flow in Asia.