China’s manufacturing activity on contraction course for 5-month period

By Emre Aytekin

BEIJING (AA) – China’s manufacturing industry is seeing a contraction that started in the fourth quarter of 2023, as per leading economic data from the country.

As announced by China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the manufacturing industry’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.1, down 0.1 points in February compared to January.

There was a rise in the first three months of 2023 when the signs of post-pandemic recovery were seen. However, the manufacturing PMI started to contract in March, exceeding the growth threshold of 50 points for the first time in five months in September, only to enter a contraction course once again in the last quarter of the year.

Although the manufacturing PMI went up 0.2 points to 49.2 month-on-month in January 2024, it remained below the growth threshold.
Figures above 50 in PMI indices indicate an increase in economic activity, whereas below 50 show a decrease.

China’s manufacturing industry is export-oriented, and now it is affected by the weakening external demand and the stagnation in domestic demand.

In February, the new orders sub-index remained stable at 49 points, whereas the new export orders sub-index fell from 47.2 to 46.3 points.

- ⁠Non-manufacturing PMI shows recovery thanks to Chinese New Year

The non-manufacturing PMI index, which includes sectors such as services, construction, mining, and agriculture, recovered in February thanks to increased domestic travel and consumer spending during Chinese New Year.

The index rose to 50.7 in January and 51.7 in February, up 0.7 points, and remained above the growth threshold.

As for the services sub-index in the non-manufacturing PMI, it soared 0.9 points in January to 51 points in February, while the construction sector sub-index went down from 53.9 to 53.5 points due to the effects of debt problems in the real estate sector.

* Writing by Emir Yildirim in Istanbul