China's factory activity contracts for first time in 9 months, Caixin PMI shows
BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) -China's manufacturing activity in July shrank for the first time in nine months as new orders declined, a private sector survey showed on Thursday, boding ill for the country's growth momentum in the second half of 2024.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing PMI fell to 49.8 in July from 51.8 the previous month, the lowest reading since October last year and missing analysts' forecasts of 51.5.
The reading, which mostly covers smaller, export-oriented firms, is in line with an official PMI survey on Wednesday showing manufacturing activity slipped to a five-month low.
According to the Caixin survey, the expansion in manufacturing output was the slowest in nine months, which was attributed to the first fall in new orders in a year.
Participants blamed subdued demand and client budget reductions for the poor performance.
Sub-sector data indicated that the renewed drop in new orders predominantly affected investment and intermediate goods, while the consumer goods sector saw slight expansion in July.
To boost consumption, China announced last week that around 150 billion yuan ($20.74 billion) out of 1 trillion yuan ultra-long special treasury bonds issuance will subsidise replacements of old appliances, cars, electronic bicycles and other goods.
Despite the overall tepid new orders, export orders continued to increase in July, though the rate of growth slowed slightly from June.
"The most prominent issues are still insufficient effective domestic demand and weak market optimism," said Wang Zhe, economist at Caixin Insight Group, calling for policy efforts to stabilise growth.
The world's second-largest economy missed growth forecasts in the second quarter and faces deflationary pressures, with retail sales and imports significantly underperforming industrial output and exports.
China's foreign trade growth in the second half of the year faces numerous obstacles, including high geopolitical risks, supply chain disruptions due to protectionism, shipping congestion and escalating shipping fees, Lv Daliang, customs spokesperson, said on Tuesday.
Purchasing activity declined for the first time since October 2023, leading to a renewed depletion of purchase stocks, the Caixin survey showed.
On the other hand, stocks of finished goods rose again, though this was partially driven by delays in outbound shipments.
Some Chinese manufacturers lowered selling prices to support sales amid increased competition, while input cost inflation eased.
Employment was stable as the rate of job losses was unchanged from June, staying in contractionary territory for 11 months.
Producers remained optimistic about output in the coming year, with the level of optimism improving from June.
($1 = 7.2340 Chinese yuan)
Reporting by Ellen Zhang and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong
면책조항: XM Group 회사는 체결 전용 서비스와 온라인 거래 플랫폼에 대한 접근을 제공하여, 개인이 웹사이트에서 또는 웹사이트를 통해 이용 가능한 콘텐츠를 보거나 사용할 수 있도록 허용합니다. 이에 대해 변경하거나 확장할 의도는 없습니다. 이러한 접근 및 사용에는 다음 사항이 항상 적용됩니다: (i) 이용 약관, (ii) 위험 경고, (iii) 완전 면책조항. 따라서, 이러한 콘텐츠는 일반적인 정보에 불과합니다. 특히, 온라인 거래 플랫폼의 콘텐츠는 금융 시장에서의 거래에 대한 권유나 제안이 아닙니다. 금융 시장에서의 거래는 자본에 상당한 위험을 수반합니다.
온라인 거래 플랫폼에 공개된 모든 자료는 교육/정보 목적으로만 제공되며, 금융, 투자세 또는 거래 조언 및 권고, 거래 가격 기록, 금융 상품 또는 원치 않는 금융 프로모션의 거래 제안 또는 권유를 포함하지 않으며, 포함해서도 안됩니다.
이 웹사이트에 포함된 모든 의견, 뉴스, 리서치, 분석, 가격, 기타 정보 또는 제3자 사이트에 대한 링크와 같이 XM이 준비하는 콘텐츠 뿐만 아니라, 제3자 콘텐츠는 일반 시장 논평으로서 "현재" 기준으로 제공되며, 투자 조언으로 여겨지지 않습니다. 모든 콘텐츠가 투자 리서치로 해석되는 경우, 투자 리서치의 독립성을 촉진하기 위해 고안된 법적 요건에 따라 콘텐츠가 의도되지 않았으며, 준비되지 않았다는 점을 인지하고 동의해야 합니다. 따라서, 관련 법률 및 규정에 따른 마케팅 커뮤니케이션이라고 간주됩니다. 여기에서 접근할 수 있는 앞서 언급한 정보에 대한 비독립 투자 리서치 및 위험 경고 알림을 읽고, 이해하시기 바랍니다.
