Satellites Show China Manufacturing Output Contracted in October

Chinese manufacturing output contracted in October, according to an index based on satellite imagery.

The China Satellite Manufacturing Index, which the U.S.-based firm SpaceKnow Inc. compiles using satellite imagery to track activity levels across thousands of industrial sites, slipped below 50 in October for the first time since June 2017. As with the official purchasing managers index, 50 is the dividing line between expansion and contraction.