Posted on 01 Sep 2022
In August, China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for its manufacturing industry reversed up by 0.4 percentage point on month to 49.4, though the index and some major elements such as new orders and production remained in the contraction zone, according to the latest release by the country's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on August 31.
China's economy remained the momentum of recovery this month, despite some negative factors such as increasing COVID-19 new cases and scorching weather in many regions, according to NBS' senior statistician Zhao Qinghe, saying that 12 of the 21 surveyed sectors recorded on-month growth in their PMIs.
In August, the sub-index for production among Chinese manufacturers remained stable on month at 49.8, while new orders for the manufacturing industry was 0.7 percentage point higher from July to stand at 49.2, the NBS data showed.
"The two indices continued to contract, connoting that both supply and demand for the industry still need to strengthen further," Zhao said.
Meanwhile, the pricing indices for manufactured products rebounded from the low levels in July, with that for raw materials procurement rising 3.9 percentage points on month to 44.3, and the finished product ex-works pricing index up by 4.4 percentage points on month to 44.5.
The latest survey results revealed that about 48.4% of manufacturing enterprises in China faced high procurement costs of raw materials, and the proportion dipped by 2.4 percentage points on month and marked the first time to below 50%, according to Zhao.
"In general, the cost pressure among these enterprises eased a little," he said.
Among all manufacturers, large- and medium-sized firms saw their PMIs up by 0.7 and 0.4 percentage point on month to 50.5 and 48.9 respectively. Nevertheless, that of small-sized enterprises dropped by another 0.3 percentage point from last month to 47.6, amid the persistent pressure in their production and operations, Zhao noted.
In August, China's consumer goods sector was in expansion, with its PMI rising by 0.9 percentage point on month to 52.3, many thanks to various preferential policies to boost consumption demand.
Moreover, China's non-manufacturing sector has continued to recover for the third month, though its PMI slipped to 52.6, being 1.2 percentage points lower on month. And that for service industries also dipped by 0.9 percentage point to 51.9, reflecting the impact of COVID spread and adverse weather in some regions of China.
Source:Mysteel Global
