Chinese manufacturing sector continues to expand at end of 2024

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - China's manufacturing sector continued to expand in December 2024, but the pace of growth in new orders and production slowed down, overall sales were dampened by falling export orders, and employment levels also fell, while business optimism eased, the data provider S&P Global said Thursday.

Chinese manufacturers also lowered their selling prices, opting to absorb price increases to support sales, it added.

The country's Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector fell to 50.5 in December, from 51.5 in November.

The latest data signaled that conditions in the manufacturing sector improved for a third consecutive month and the fall in the PMI however indicated that the pace of growth eased since November and was marginal overall, S&P said.

It added: "Manufacturing production in China increased for a fourteenth successive month in December.

"That said, the rate of expansion decelerated to a marginal pace as new order growth slowed."