CAUTION:While the official PMI remained above 50, the pace of expansion slowed for a second month. Worse, HSBC/Markit’s reading registered another contraction

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 02, 2015
By: Amy Su  /  Staff reporter

Manufacturing activity expanded for the third straight month last month, but the pace slowed significantly for a second month in a row, indicating a more conservative outlook for the second half of the year, a report released yesterday by the Chung-Hua Institution for Economic Research (CIER, 中華經濟研究院) said.

The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) stood at 51.1 last month, still above 50, which represents expansion, the Taipei-based think tank said in its monthly report.

However, the index edged down 3.6 points from April, the second consecutive month to show a month-on-month decline, evidence of a more cautious view among purchasing managers, the report said.     [FULL  STORY]