A worker assembles auto parts at a factory in Qinhuangdao, Hebei province, on Aug 3, 2022. (YANG SHIRAO / XINHUA)
BEIJING – The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 49.2 in October, down from 50.1 in September, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.
Sporadic and scattered COVID-19 outbreaks weighed on the October PMI reading, said senior statistician Zhao Qinghe from the National Bureau of Statistics
Sporadic and scattered COVID-19 outbreaks weighed on the October reading, the bureau's senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said.
Another cause for the decline is a contraction in energy-intensive industries, with the sub-reading at 48.8, down from 50.6 in September, according to Zhao.
The sub-index for large enterprises remained in the expansion zone at 50.1 in October, down from 51.1 the previous month. The sub-reading for production and new orders came in at 49.6 and 48.1, respectively.
Firms anticipate manufacturing activities to pick up in the near term, with the sub-index for production and business expectations at 52.6.
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A customer picks commodities at a supermarket in Congtai district, Handan city, Hebei province, on Aug 10, 2022. (PHOTO / XINHUA)
Non-manufacturing PMI down
Monday's data also showed the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 48.7 in October, down from 50.6 in September.
The business volume of industries such as retail, aviation, transportation, hospitality and catering dropped in October, while that for telecommunications, radio, television and satellite transmission services, as well as monetary and financial services, maintained expansion
The service sector was weaker this month as resurgences of COVID-19 cases dampened market activities, with its sub-index for business activities declining to 47, according to Zhao.
The business volume of industries such as retail, aviation, transportation, hospitality and catering dropped in October, while that for telecommunications, radio, television and satellite transmission services, as well as monetary and financial services, maintained expansion.
But Zhao noted the sub-index measuring expectations for business activities of the service sector came in at 56.7, up from 56.1 in September.
The business expectation sub-indexes for industries like postal services, Internet software and information technology services topped 60 as "Double 11," China's annual online shopping spree that falls on Nov 11 each year, approaches, said Zhao.
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The construction sector maintained expansion this month, with the sub-index for business activities standing at 58.2. The business expectation sub-index for the sector reached a recent high of 64.2, indicating increased optimism among construction enterprises.