Private indices show China economy in sluggish growth in May

Beijing

AFTER something of a roller-coaster ride in March and April, China settled into sluggish growth in May, according to the earliest batch of private indicators tracking the world's second-largest economy.

The Minxin manufacturing index from the China Academy of New Supply-side Economics, Market News International's business confidence indicator and Standard Chartered plc's small-business gauge all retreated. On the brighter side, sales managers saw stronger activity, a manufacturing gauge based on satellite images rose a second month, and there was an uptick in Internet searches related to smaller businesses.