Shanghai cityscape at night.
Wangwukong
China’s factory activity shrank for a second straight month in November, while non-manufacturing activity hit yet another new low for the year, signaling that the world’s second-largest economy is not yet out of the woods and may require more muscular policy support.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index unexpectedly fell slightly to 49.4 in November from 49.5 in October, according to data from the National Bureau of Statistics released Thursday. This was slightly worse than the median forecast for 49.7 in a Reuters poll.
The official non-manufacturing managers’ index slipped to 50.2 in November from 50.6 in October, according to the same NBS release. This was the weakest reading since December 2022.
A PMI reading above 50 indicates expansion in activity, while a reading below that level points to a contraction.
This is a developing story. Please check back later for more updates.