3月份中國製造業繼續收縮

Manufacturing in China contracted to an 11-month low this month, according to a preliminary reading of an influential index tracking the sector by HSBC.

根據匯豐銀行(HSBC)製造業採購經理人指數(PMI)的“預覽版”讀數，3月中國製造業活動已收縮至11個月內的最低點。

Manufacturing in China was worse than expected, according to a closely-watched "flash" index by HSBC and Markit. The preliminary reading for March was 49.2, against of a reading of 50.7 in February and versus expectations of 50.5. Any score less than 50 indicates contraction.

這一受到密切關注的指數由匯豐和Markit共同編制，最新“預覽版”讀數顯示中國製造業狀況比預期更糟。本月這一讀數爲49.2，不僅低於2月份的50.7，也低於50.5的預期數值。該讀數低於50表示相關產業處於收縮中。

The sector has last contracted in January, with a reading of 49.7, according to the index.

根據這一指數，中國製造業上次出現收縮是在今年1月，當時讀數爲49.7。

But taken as an indicator about the Chinese economy as a whole the monthly survey should be treated with a degree of caution. The HSBC index is heavily skewed towards small, private companies and tends to be more volatile than China's official PMI, which focuses more on state-backed companies. However the last reading for the official PMI, which came in at 49.9 in February, also pointed to a worsening economy.

不過，要用該讀數衡量中國經濟總體狀況還需謹慎。匯豐銀行的PMI指數更爲偏向小型民營企業，波動性往往大於更關注國有企業的中國官方PMI指數。不過，中國官方上次公佈的2月份PMI指數也只有49.9，同樣顯示中國經濟在惡化。

Annabel Fiddes, economist at Markit said:“The HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI signalled a slight deterioration in the health of China's manufacturing sector in March. A renewed fall in total new business contributed to a weaker expansion of output, while companies continued to trim their workforce numbers.

Markit經濟學家安娜貝爾•菲德斯(Annabel Fiddes)表示：“匯豐銀行預覽版中國製造業PMI指數表明，3月份中國製造業的情況略有惡化。新增業務總量再次下滑，令產出增長勢頭繼續減弱。同時，企業也在繼續削減員工人數。

“Meanwhile, manufacturing companies continued to benefit from falling input costs, stemming from the recent global oil price decline. However, relatively muted client demand has led firms to pass on savings in a bid to boost new work, and cut their selling prices at a similarly sharp rate.”

“與此同時，近期全球油價下跌導致進口成本下滑，繼續令製造業企業受益。然而，相對低迷的客戶需求令企業以差不多同樣大的幅度調降了銷售價格，以便將節省下來的成本回饋客戶，從而提升新增業務量。”