China's factory activity dipped in April, the private Caixin purchasing managers' index has confirmed. According to Caixin, factory activity fell to 49.5 from 50 in March, Bloomberg reported, meaning activity contracted for the first time since the start of the year. The data confirmed official figures released earlier this month, which pointed to a sharper monthly contraction in manufacturing activity: to 49.2 from 51.9 in March, Reuters reported. The official data served a blow because it was very different from what analysts had expected, which…
