- China holds off on fresh stimulus but 'confident' will hit growth target
- German suspect in 'Maddie' case faces verdict in sex crimes trial
- Top economic official 'confident' China will hit 2024 growth target
- COP29 fight looms over climate funds for developing world
- Shanghai stocks soar to extend stimulus rally amid Asia-wide drop
- Will Tesla's robotaxi reveal live up to hype?
- 'Invisibility' and quantum computing tipped for physics Nobel
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street falls
- 'Dark day': Victims mourned around the globe on Oct. 7 anniversary
- Mission to probe smashed asteroid launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street slips
- Europe's asteroid mission Hera launches despite hurricane
- Oil prices extend gains on Mideast tensions, Wall Street retreats
- What is microRNA? Nobel-winning discovery explained
- Weather may delay launch of mission to study deflected asteroid
- China to flesh out economic stimulus plans after bumper rally
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on US jobs data
- World marks anniversary of Oct. 7 attack on Israel
- Asian markets track Wall St rally on jobs data
- Cancer, cardiovascular drugs tipped for Nobel as prize week opens
- Tunisia incumbent Saied set to win presidential vote: exit polls
- 'Difficult day': Oct 7 commemorations begin with festival memorial
- Commemorations begin for anniversary of attack on Israel
- Tunisia voting ends as Saied eyes re-election with critics behind bars
- Drowned by hurricane, remote N.Carolina towns now struggle for water
- Two elephants die in flash flooding in northern Thailand
- Tunisia votes with Saied set for re-election
- Too hot by day, Dubai's floodlit beaches are packed at night
- A 'forgotten' valley in storm-hit North Carolina, desperate for help
- Italy targets climate activists in 'anti-Gandhi' demo clampdown
- US trade chief defends tariff hikes when paired with investment
- EU court blocks French ban on vegetable 'steak' labelling
- Meta AI turns pictures into videos with sound
- US dockworkers return to ports after three-day strike
- DR Congo to begin mpox vaccination campaign Saturday in east
- Meta must limit data use for targeted ads: EU court
- Oil extends gains, jobs report lifts Wall Street
- US hiring soars past expectations in sign of resilient market
- As EU targets Chinese cars, European rivals sputter
- Top EU court finds against FIFA in key transfer market ruling
- Oil extends gains, Hong Kong stocks resume rally
- 'A man provides': Ukrainian miners send families away as Russia advances
- EU states greenlight extra tariffs on EVs from China
- Hong Kong stocks resume rally, oil dips after Middle East-fuelled surge
- Crude stable after Israel-Iran surge, Hong Kong stocks resume gains
- Hera spacecraft to probe asteroid deflected by defence test
- US dockworkers to head back to work after tentative deal
- After Helene's destruction, North Carolina starts to rebuild
- Dockers end three-day strike at Montreal port
- What next for OpenAI after $157 billion bonanza?
CMSD | -0.09% | 24.79 | $ | |
CMSC | -0.53% | 24.57 | $ | |
RYCEF | -0.15% | 6.87 | $ | |
NGG | -1.56% | 65.48 | $ | |
GSK | -0.49% | 38.63 | $ | |
RBGPF | 100% | 60.52 | $ | |
SCS | -0.15% | 12.95 | $ | |
BTI | -0.26% | 35.2 | $ | |
AZN | -0.78% | 76.87 | $ | |
RIO | -0.11% | 69.62 | $ | |
BCC | 1.68% | 141.27 | $ | |
JRI | -0.76% | 13.18 | $ | |
VOD | 0.31% | 9.69 | $ | |
BCE | -0.54% | 33.53 | $ | |
RELX | -0.54% | 46.04 | $ | |
BP | 0.78% | 33.14 | $ |
China's factory activity contracts as Covid disruptions spread
China's factory activity shrank for a second straight month in November, official data showed Wednesday, as large swathes of the country were hit by Covid-19 lockdowns and transport disruptions.
The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) -- a key gauge of manufacturing in the world's second-biggest economy -- came in at 48.0, down from October's 49.2 and well below the 50-point mark separating growth from contraction, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
China is the last major economy welded to a zero-Covid strategy of eliminating outbreaks with strict quarantines and mass testing even as infections reached record highs this month, dragging down demand and business confidence.
"In November, impacted by multiple factors including the wide and frequent spread of domestic outbreaks, and the international environment becoming more complex and severe, China's purchasing managers' index fell," NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe said in a statement.
November's figure was lower than the 49.0 reading predicted by Bloomberg analysts.
The manufacturing PMI has been in contraction territory for all but four months of the year so far, as a summer of heat waves was bookended by Covid lockdowns in major cities during the spring and autumn.
Zhao said domestic outbreaks in November caused "production activity to slow down and product orders to fall", noting "increased fluctuation in market expectations".
Activity fell at businesses of all sizes during the month, with the PMI for small enterprises hit hardest at 45.6.
The non-manufacturing PMI came in at 46.7 points in November, also reflecting a contraction in activity and down from 48.7 points in October.
Zhao said that for transport, accommodation, catering and entertainment in particular "the total industry business volume fell significantly", as "some regions saw a relatively large impact from the pandemic".
Chinese leaders have set an annual economic growth target of about 5.5 percent, but many observers think the country will struggle to hit it, despite announcing a better-than-expected 3.9 percent expansion in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, rare nationwide protests have erupted among a population exhausted by almost three years of zero-Covid, while authorities have offered mixed messages on transitioning away from the strategy.
"The virus situation continues to cloud the economic outlook," Sheana Yue, China economist at Capital Economics said in a note on Wednesday.
"Most cities have taken to implementing localised lockdowns, similar to the ones we saw in April, which will continue to weigh heavily on services activity," Yue said.
She warned, "there is little upside that might offset the weakness," with a global downturn putting pressure on export-focused businesses in China.
Ch.Lefebvre--CPN