Dow Jones – China’s December Caixin Manufacturing PMI Eased to 53.0

China’s manufacturing activity moderated in December due to weak demand for the country’s exports, according to a private survey of manufacturers.

The Caixin China purchasing managers’ index, which is weighted toward small, private manufacturers, was 53.0 in December, Caixin Media Co. and research firm Markit said Monday. It had dropped from November’s 54.9, which was its highest level in a decade.

December’s reading was the eighth consecutive month that the Caixin PMI held above the 50 mark, which indicates an expansion in activity.

The subindexes for output and total new orders both slipped from the previous month but remained in expansionary territory for the 10th and seventh consecutive month, respectively, Caixin said.

Export sales rose modestly amid uncertain due to the coronavirus pandemic globally. The subindex for new export orders stayed in positive territory for the fifth straight month, Caixin said.

“We expect the economic recovery in the post-epidemic era to continue for several months, and macroeconomic indicators will be stronger in the next six months,” Wang Zhe, a senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said in a statement accompanying the data.

Mr. Wang noted that rising costs of the raw materials could hurt employment, and thus it was important for the exit from stimulus policies implemented during the pandemic to be designed properly.

China’s official manufacturing PMI, which is focused more on large, state-owned companies, fell to 51.9 in December from 52.1 in November, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics last week. The official survey of manufacturers has a much larger sample than the private survey.

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 03, 2021 21:56 ET (02:56 GMT)

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