China factory activity slows slightly on new COVID-19 wave
02 February, 2021
Factory activity in China slowed slightly in January, official info showed Sunday, as the country rushed to stamp out a recently available coronavirus wave on northern China.
The purchasing managers' index (PMI), an integral gauge of manufacturing activity, came in at 51.3 this month, as the world's second-largest market tightened COVID-19 precautions prior to the Lunar New Year.
The figure was slightly below December's reading of 51.9, although still above the 50-point tag separating expansion from contraction.
"Recently, native clusters of the epidemic emerged successively in many places in the united states, and the creation and functions of some enterprises were temporarily affected," explained National Bureau of Figures (NBS) senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.
Zhao added that the period around the Lunar New Calendar year is traditionally an "off-peak time" for the manufacturing market.
The most recent data indicated that the business enterprise climate remains weak for small firms, although domestic consumption found ahead of the festive period.
Export demand slowed after Holiday as being the pandemic continued spreading worldwide, the NBS said.
China's non-manufacturing PMI found a more substantial drop to 52.4, from 55.7 last month, taking a bigger hit from the household virus resurgence.
Industries including accommodation and catering saw a "more significant" drop found in activity, as the construction market went into a great off-season.
"The offerings sector may bear the brunt of the new wave of COVID-19, tightening social distancing guidelines and the reimposition of lockdown actions and travel bans in some elements of China," said a recently available Nomura research report.
"The construction sector may face plenty of downward pressure from colder-than-usual weather this wintertime," it added.
Source: japantoday.com
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