Economics
China Slowdown Continues With Factory Gauge at Lowest Level Since 2016
- Manufacturing PMI slips back into the contractionary zone
- Non-manufacturing PMI strengthens as stimulus starts to help
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China heads into the new year with its factories back in contractionary territory as the threat of a prolonged trade war dampens sentiment and stimulus struggles to gain traction.
The manufacturing purchasing managers index dropped to 49.4 in December, the weakest since early 2016 and below the 50 level that denotes contraction. Measures of new orders and new export orders slipped -- a bearish signal for future demand -- while readings for input and output prices weakened.