China factory activity slows in March as oil-driven costs weigh – RatingDog PMI in World Economy News 02/04/2026 China’s manufacturing activity expanded for a fourth straight month in March, although growth slowed from the previous month and missed expectations, as rising cost pressures from higher oil prices weighed on momentum. The RatingDog manufacturing PMI came in at 50.8 in March, down from 52.1 in February and below forecasts of 51.6, but remained above the 50-mark that separates growth from contraction, a private survey showed on Wednesday. The reading pointed to a sustained, albeit softer, improvement in factory activity, with output and new orders continuing to expand, though at a slower pace compared to February’s multi-year highs. Official data on Tuesday showed that Chinese manufacturing PMI grew 50.4 in March, more than expectations of 50.1, and improved from the 49.0 PMI seen in the prior month. The RatingDog survey showed that new export orders also rose, but growth moderated, while employment increased for a third straight month, marking the longest stretch of job creation since mid-2021. However, the survey highlighted mounting cost pressures, with input prices rising at the fastest pace since March 2022, driven in part by elevated global oil prices amid ongoing geopolitical tensions, which have increased costs for energy and raw materials. Supply-side constraints also intensified, with suppliers’ delivery times lengthening at the sharpest rate since December 2022, reflecting disruptions. RatingDog Founder Yao Yu said manufacturing conditions continued to improve overall, but warned that the operating environment was becoming more complex amid rising costs and external uncertainties. Source: Investing.com 2026-04-02 hellenicshippingnews... window.___gcfg = {lang: 'en-US'}; (function(w, d, s) { function go(){ var js, fjs = d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0], load = function(url, id) { if (d.getElementById(id)) {return;} js = d.createElement(s); js.src = url; js.id = id; fjs.parentNode.insertBefore(js, fjs); }; load('//connect.facebook.net/en/all.js#xfbml=1', 'fbjssdk'); load('https://apis.google.com/js/plusone.js', 'gplus1js'); load('//platform.twitter.com/widgets.js', 'tweetjs'); } if (w.addEventListener) { w.addEventListener("load", go, false); } else if (w.attachEvent) { w.attachEvent("onload",go); } }(window, document, 'script')); tweet Share