China Manufacturing Gauge Shows Slightly Firmer Growth Momentum
China’s official factory gauge edged up on stronger production and demand in November, but remained in contraction for an eighth straight month.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers index rose to 49.2 in November, compared with 49.0 in October, said the National Bureau of Statistics on Sunday.
The result undershot the forecast of 49.3 made by economists in a Wall Street Journal survey.
It also marked the eighth consecutive month below the threshold of 50, which signals a contraction in activity, while a reading above 50 indicates expansion.
The production subindex rose to 50.0 in November from 49.7 in October. The subindex for total new orders increased to 49.2, compared with October’s 48.8, while new export orders rose to 47.6 in November from 45.9 in October.
Meanwhile, China’s nonmanufacturing PMI, which covers both service and construction activity, fell to 49.5 in November from 50.1 in October, the statistics bureau said.
The subindex tracking service activity fell to 49.5 in November, compared with 50.2 in October, as holiday effects faded, the statistics bureau said. The construction subindex rose to 49.6 from 49.1, but still in contraction territory amid the country’s prolonged property slump.