Beijing: China’s factory activity suddenly shrinked in September due to wider fixing on the use of electricity and input price increases, while the service returned to expansion due to the Covid-19 outbreak, offering the second largest assistance for the second largest economy in the world.
The Official Manufacturing Purchase Manager Index (PMI) was at 49.6 in September versus 50.1 in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Thursday, slipping into contractions for the first time since February 2020.
China’s economy with Fast recover from a pandemic decline induced last year, but the momentum has weakened in recent months, with the manufacturing sector expanded by cost increases, production congestion and electricity allotment.
Rising Covid-19 cases on dozens of cities during the summer also disrupted the manufacturing and service sector, although the latter began to rise again as an outbreak of receding.
The sub-index for the factory output was contracted in September for the first time since February last year, it was dragged back by the Pullback in the high-energy consumer industry, such as plants that process metals and oil products.
Gauge reached 49.6 versus 50.1 a month earlier.
“In September, because of factors such as low business volume in industries that consume high energy, manufacturing PMI falls below the critical point,” said Zhao Qinghe, a Senior NBS statistician, in an accompanying statement.
“Two industrial industries that take high energy …
both are lower than 45.0, showing a significant decrease in supply and demand.” The growth of the prospect of sudden contractions in factory activities will further burden the economy that has been hit with sidewalks in the property sector and its technology and faces many decreasing growth by private sector economists.
Another economy in Asia also wrestled with production issues due to supply chain disorders, with data on Thursday showing Japanese industry output fell for one consecutive month in August.
“(China) economic growth in Q4 is likely to be slower without government policy changes, and the slowdown rate can increase,” said Zhiwei Zhang, Chief Economist based in Shenzhen in Pinpoint’s asset management, after PMI data was released.
“The big question is whether the government’s monetary and fiscal policy will become more supportive now or if the government will wait until the end of the year to change the policy.” The last central bank relieves its requirements to how many cash banks must be detained in mid-July, just before the surge in Covid-19 domestic cases.
Bank Rakyat (PBOC) has left benchmark loan interest rates for corporate loans and households that have not changed for the 17th month in September.
Usually high production of coal deficiencies, harder emission standards and strong demand from producers and industries encourage coal prices to record the highest and trigger troppread sidewalks on electricity use in at least 20 provinces and regions.
Higher raw material prices, especially metals and semiconductors, have also suppressed producer profits.
Income in Chinese industrial companies in August slowed for the sixth consecutive month.
The sub-index for raw material costs rose to 63.5 in September from 61.3 a month earlier, while the size of the new order came at 49.3 compared to 49.6 in August, shrinking for the second month in a row.
Sub-index for permanent work in contractions, at 47.8 versus 47.0 a month earlier.
A separate personal survey was also released on Thursday which focused on small business and export-oriented indicates that factory activity in September did not develop or contracted.
On a more optimistic record, official non-manufacturing PMI in September was at 53.2, bouncing back from 47.5 in August, data from NBS showed, as a Covid-19 outbreak receded after rising during the summer months.
Last month, restrictions regarding Covid-19 drove service sector activity into sharp contractions for the first time since last year’s height.
Official September PMI Composite, which includes manufacturing and service activities, stands at 51.7 versus 48.9 in August.