Manufacturing in China contracted to an 11-month low this month, according to a preliminary reading of an influential¹ index tracking the sector² by HSBC.

根据汇丰银行(HSBC)制造业采购经理人指数(PMI)的“预览版”读数，3月中国制造业活动已收缩至11个月内的最低点。

Manufacturing in China was worse than expected, according to a closely-watched "flash" index by HSBC and Markit. The preliminary reading for March was 49.2, against of a reading of 50.7 in February and versus³ expectations of 50.5. Any score less than 50 indicates contraction⁴.

这一受到密切关注的指数由汇丰和Markit共同编制，最新“预览版”读数显示中国制造业状况比预期更糟。本月这一读数为49.2，不仅低于2月份的50.7，也低于50.5的预期数值。该读数低于50表示相关产业处于收缩中。

The sector has last contracted in January, with a reading of 49.7, according to the index.

根据这一指数，中国制造业上次出现收缩是在今年1月，当时读数为49.7。

3月份中国制造业继续收缩

But taken as an indicator⁵ about the Chinese economy as a whole the monthly survey should be treated with a degree of caution. The HSBC index is heavily skewed towards small, private companies and tends to be more volatile⁶ than China's official PMI, which focuses more on state-backed companies. However the last reading for the official PMI, which came in at 49.9 in February, also pointed⁷ to a worsening economy.

不过，要用该读数衡量中国经济总体状况还需谨慎。汇丰银行的PMI指数更为偏向小型民营企业，波动性往往大于更关注国有企业的中国官方PMI指数。不过，中国官方上次公布的2月份PMI指数也只有49.9，同样显示中国经济在恶化。

Annabel Fiddes, economist⁸ at Markit said:“The HSBC Flash China Manufacturing PMI signalled a slight deterioration⁹ in the health of China's manufacturing sector in March. A renewed fall in total new business contributed to a weaker expansion of output, while companies continued to trim their workforce¹⁰ numbers.

Markit经济学家安娜贝尔•菲德斯(Annabel Fiddes)表示：“汇丰银行预览版中国制造业PMI指数表明，3月份中国制造业的情况略有恶化。新增业务总量再次下滑，令产出增长势头继续减弱。同时，企业也在继续削减员工人数。

“Meanwhile, manufacturing companies continued to benefit from falling input¹¹ costs, stemming from the recent global oil price decline. However, relatively¹² muted client demand has led firms to pass on savings¹³ in a bid to boost new work, and cut their selling prices at a similarly sharp rate.”

“与此同时，近期全球油价下跌导致进口成本下滑，继续令制造业企业受益。然而，相对低迷的客户需求令企业以差不多同样大的幅度调降了销售价格，以便将节省下来的成本回馈客户，从而提升新增业务量。”