China’s Caixin PMI Manufacturing index slipped from 50.6 in September to 49.5 in October, falling below market expectations set at 50.8. This marks a renewed contraction in the nation’s manufacturing sector.
Wang Zhe, Senior Economist at Caixin Insight Group, highlighted several challenges facing the manufacturing industry. “Overall, manufacturers were not in high spirits in October,” he said. The decline in the sector was multifaceted – supply, employment, and external demand all experienced reductions, while domestic demand saw a slower pace of expansion.
The manufacturing environment was further complicated by rising costs and output prices. This was coupled with decrease in purchases and accumulation of inventories of finished goods. Reflecting the various pressures, “business optimism continued to wane”.
