Official data showed on Thursday that China’s manufacturing activity contracted for the fifth consecutive month in August, amid weak demand at home and abroad.
China’s Bureau of Statistics reported that the official purchasing managers’ index rose to 49.7 from 49.3 in July, still below the 50-point level that separates growth from contraction.
The data also showed that the sub-index for new export orders contracted for the sixth month in a row. While new orders rose again for the first time in five months, factory owners indicated that producer prices were improving for the first time in seven months, but the broad services sector remained in a downward trend.
The non-manufacturing PMI, which includes two sub-indicators of activity in the services and construction sectors, fell to 51.0 from 51.5 in July led by a continued decline in services activity, while the composite PMI, which includes manufacturing and non-manufacturing activity, rose to 51.3 from 51.1. .