BEIJING—China's manufacturing sector presented a mixed picture in May, as an official gauge of factory activity recorded modest gains while a private index pointed to continuing sluggishness.
Analysts said that the conflicting results meant that Beijing probably would roll out more government support in the months ahead to spur momentum in the world's second largest economy.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 50.2 in May, up from 50.1 in April. That marked the third month in a row that it was above the key level of 50, which separates expansion from contraction compared with the previous month. Economists attributed the rise to government support measures.
Meanwhile, the final reading from a private survey compiled by HSBC Holdings PLC and research house Markit rose to 49.2 in May from 48.9 in April, but the result was still the third month in a row in negative territory.
"A series of government support measures is starting to show some effects," said Zhao Qinghe, analyst at China's National Bureau of Statistics, which released the official data on Monday. "But the manufacturing sector still faces downward pressure."
Weak domestic demand, a slumping property market and sluggish exports have combined to pinch economic growth. Growth came in at 7% year over year in the first quarter, the worst showing in six years, according to the official statistics.
In addition, exports in April fell a surprising 6.4% from a year ago, extending a 15% slide in March and showing that the economy was getting little lift from overseas demand.
The government has responded with an array of policy measures to support growth, including stepped-up spending on infrastructure projects and tax breaks for businesses and consumers. The central bank has also slashed interest rates and encouraged banks to lend more of their deposits.
"We expect monetary policy to continue to ease," said Yang Zhao, economist at Nomura International. "We still expect growth of 6.6% in the second quarter though that should be the bottom for the year," he said.
The official PMI subindex measuring new orders climbed to 50.6 from 50.2 in April, while the production subindex improved to 52.9 from 52.6, according to the statistics bureau.
Analysts said that the continuing weakness in the HSBC-Markit survey probably reflects the survey's bias toward greater weighting of smaller and export-oriented companies, which are often slower to benefit from government stimulus measures. The HSBC index showed particularly weak export business as well as more softness in employment.
Meanwhile, the nonmanufacturing sector also showed a mixed picture. The official index for nonmanufacturing activity remained in positive territory, though it dipped to 53.2 in May from 53.4 in April. However, it was the lowest showing for that index since December 2008, according to data provider Wind Information.
—Grace Zhu contributed to this article.
Write to William Kazer at william.kazer@wsj.com
Corrections & Amplifications
China's official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index came in at 50.2 in May. An earlier version of this article misstated the PMI figure in the third paragraph. [June 1]
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