China’s Weak Factory Activity Shows Urgency of Stimulus Push
- PMIs suggest manufacturing activity contracted before stimulus
- Data offer last snapshot of economy before Golden Week holiday
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China’s factory activity continued to contract while the services sector slowed in September, as policymakers prepared an emergency stimulus blitz to revive an economy facing challenges across the board.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 49.8, meaning the sector has now been in contraction since April 2023, bar three months. The non-manufacturing PMI fell to the lowest in 21 months, showing construction and services activity lost momentum and moved to the verge of shrinking.