The average of China's official and private manufacturing PMIs points to a
further improvement in economic momentum at the start of 2Q, lifted by booming
exports, says Capital Economics. A private gauge of China's services
activity--the RatingDog Services PMI--came in stronger than expected, expanding
at a faster pace in April amid stronger increases in both business volume and
new demand. That diverges from its official counterpart, though the average of
the two indexes is steady from March, Capital Economics writes in a note.
However, given the weakness in the construction sector, domestic demand growth
still looks to have slowed in April, it adds.
