Current:Home > BackChina manufacturing contracts for a 4th straight month in January-LoTradeCoin
China manufacturing contracts for a 4th straight month in January
View Date:2024-12-23 22:21:22
SINGAPORE (AP) — A survey of factory managers in China released Wednesday shows manufacturing contracted in January for a fourth straight month, reflecting weak demand and a faltering recovery in the world’s second-largest economy.
The official purchasing managers index, or PMI, rose slightly to 49.2 in January from 49.0 the month before. The PMI is on a scale up to 100 where 50 marks the cutoff between expansion and contraction.
The manufacturing PMI has fallen in nine of the past ten months, rising only in September.
“Overall, the PMI data show that China’s economy remains relatively soft, as confidence remains weak,” Lynn Song of ING Economics said in a report. “Until forward-looking indicators such as new orders return to expansion, economic momentum is likely to remain tepid.”
Despite unexpectedly prolonged weakness after the pandemic, the economy grew at a 5.2% annual pace last year, though that also was influenced by slow growth in 2022 during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In recent months, Chinese policymakers have introduced measures to shore up the economy, including spending more on construction of infrastructure, cutting interest rates and easing curbs on home-buying.
Last week, the central bank cut its reserve ratio requirement for banks, allowing banks to increase the amount of capital they can lend.
Beijing is also looking to expand some loans to real estate developers amid an ongoing property crisis, as developers struggle with a cash crunch after a crackdown on excessive borrowing.
Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a note that “growth momentum in China is in the midst of a renewed recovery” but added that it was unlikely to be sustained if policy support is cut back.
Global demand for manufactured goods has suffered as central banks around the world have raised interest rates to battle decades-high rates of inflation. Price pressures have eased in recent months, but demand has yet to rebound to pre-pandemic levels. That has ramifications across the region since supply chains linked to China are scattered across many Asian countries.
Apart from industrial activity, China’s non-manufacturing PMI rose to 50.7, the statistics bureau reported. The service sector PMI sub-index was 50.1, up from December’s 49.3.
veryGood! (31)
Related
- Chris Pratt and Katherine Schwarzenegger welcome their first son together
- Rebel Wilson's Baby Girl Royce Is Cuteness Overload in New Photo
- Social Security checks face $17,400 cut if program isn't shored up, study says
- Baltimore Orioles OF Cedric Mullins robs game-tying home run, hits game-winning home run
- Man accused of killing American tourist in Budapest, putting her body in suitcase: Police
- Cottage cheese has many health benefits. Should you eat it every day?
- Clarence Avant, ‘Godfather of Black Music’ and benefactor of athletes and politicians, dies at 92
- Doctors struggle with how to help patients with heart conditions after COVID-19
- Federal judge blocks Louisiana law that requires classrooms to display Ten Commandments
- Hunter Biden’s lawyers say gun portion of plea deal remains valid after special counsel announcement
Ranking
- Tech consultant testifies that ‘bad joke’ led to deadly clash with Cash App founder Bob Lee
- 5 people, including a child, are dead after an explosion destroys 3 homes and damages 12 others
- Dwayne 'The Rock' Johnson 'heartbroken' over Maui wildfires: 'Resilience resolve is in our DNA'
- As free press withers in El Salvador, pro-government social media influencers grow in power
- Federal judge denies request to block measure revoking Arkansas casino license
- Trump assails judge in 2020 election case after she warned him not to make inflammatory remarks
- Kansas newspaper says it investigated local police chief prior to newsroom raid
- Police questioned over legality of Kansas newspaper raid in which computers, phones seized
Recommendation
-
Mariah Carey's Amazon Holiday Merch Is All I Want for Christmas—and It's Selling Out Fast!
-
Pair of shootings in Chicago leave 1 dead, 7 wounded
-
Pilot survives crash in waters off Florida Keys, poses for selfie with rescuer
-
Coast Guard rescues 4 divers who went missing off the Carolinas
-
Powell says Fed will likely cut rates cautiously given persistent inflation pressures
-
Aaron Taylor-Johnson Says He Has Nothing to Hide About His Family Life With Wife Sam Taylor-Johnson
-
Philadelphia Eagles LB Shaun Bradley to miss 2023 season after injury in preseason opener
-
How dangerous climate conditions fueled Maui's devastating wildfires