BEIJING—Activity in China’s vast factory sector is expected to have shrunk in May after expanding slightly for two months, keeping pressure on policymakers to roll out more stimulus to stabilize an economy hit by a bruising trade war with the United States.
The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for May is forecast at 49.9, according to the median forecast of 35 economists. That is down from April’s reading of 50.1, and one notch below the 50-point mark which separates expansion from contraction on a monthly basis.
