The economy of China offered again in October symptoms of weakness as a consequence of the regrowth of COVID-19 and the impact of the global economic environment, as evidenced by the weakness of indices of purchasing managers (SMEs) for both the service sector and the industrywhich in October once again recorded a contraction in activity.
“We need to continue to consolidate the foundations for economic recovery and development,” said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the National Statistical Office (NSO) of China.
In the case of the manufacturing PMI, the October figure fell to 49.2 percentage points from 50.1 the previous month, the worst figure since last July.
Specifically, in October, the the production rate was 49.6%, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points compared to the previous month, while the figure for new orders was 48.1%, compared to 49.8% in September, and that of employment by 48.3%, with a decrease by 0.7 percentage points compared to the previous month.
In turn, the supplier delivery time index was 47.1%, up from 48.7% the previous month, although the raw material inventory figure was 47.7%, up by 0.1 percentage points compared to September.
For its part, the PMI of the The Chinese non-manufacturing sector fell in October to 48.7 points percentage from 50.6 in September, the worst reading since last May.
Taking into account the different sectors, the entrepreneurial activity index of the construction sector was 58.2%, compared to 60.2% the previous month, and the service sector index was 47%, 1.9 percentage points less than the previous month.
Therefore, the composite PMI for the Chinese economy as a whole stood at 49% in October, up from 50.9% the previous month, indicating a contraction in activity.
