BEIJING (dpa-AFX) – The mood in China’s economy has clouded over in February due to public holidays and new restrictions in the corona pandemic. The purchasing managers index (PMI) of the industry fell to 50.6 points and thus to a nine-month low, as the National Statistics Office announced in Beijing on Sunday. In January the barometer was at 51.3 points. Economists had expected a decline, but rated it as not that difficult with 51 points. Among other things, according to the authority, incoming orders from abroad decreased. This year, the Chinese New Year celebrations also fell in February, a time when many economic activities are suspended. In addition, China also had to struggle with new Covid-19 outbreaks regionally.
In the service sector and the construction industry, the mood also fell, the corresponding purchasing managers’ index fell from 52.4 to 51.4 points and was also weaker than experts estimated at 52 points. Overall, the index value was 51.6 points after 52.8 points in the previous month – a low since the lockdown in China a year ago.
Despite the decline, the sentiment indicator continues to point to growth in the Chinese economy. Index values above 50 points signal an expansion of economic activity, while values below the so-called growth threshold signal a contraction.
The official purchasing managers’ index of the People’s Republic is rather the
Mood in large and state-owned companies. The as yet unpublished survey by the business magazine “Caixin”, on the other hand, mainly reflects the mood in small and medium-sized businesses
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