China’s economy has yet to respond to policy makers’ stimulus efforts, an April manufacturing gauge indicated today, helping send the yuan to a 16-month low. The preliminary Purchasing Managers’ from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics was 48.3 in April, matching the median estimate of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. The reading rose from March’s final figure of 48 while remaining below the expansion-contraction dividing line of 50. Sustained weakness in manufacturing would pressure Premier Li Keqiang to expand pro-growth measures beyond a required-reserves cut for rural banks yesterday and what some analysts have dubbed a “mini stimulus” package of railway spending and tax relief. The report followed data last week showing China’s expansion moderated to the slowest pace in six quarters. “We do not believe that this uptick in the HSBC PMI signals any sort of turning point for the economy and continue to believe that growth momentum […]