Slowdown in China's manufacturing sector eases - Caixin

The slowdown in China’s manufacturing sector eased a little in January, according to data released on Wednesday.

The Caixin manufacturing purchasing managers’ index ticked up to 49.2 from 49.0 in December, coming in below consensus expectations for a reading of 49.8. It remained below the 50.0 mark that separates contraction from expansion.

Wang Zhe, senior economist at Caixin Insight Group, said: "Overall, the pandemic continued to take a toll on the economy in January. Supply and demand weakened, overseas demand was sluggish, employment declined, and logistics hadn’t fully recovered.

"But optimism in the sector continued to improve as businesses expected a post-Covid economic recovery."

Julian Evans-Pritchard, senior China economist at Capital Economics, said: "The Caixin manufacturing PMI published today edged up slightly in January as disruption from the reopening wave eased but it remained at a subdued level.

"Taken together with the official survey published yesterday, it suggests that weak foreign demand is holding back factory activity even as domestic services activity is rapidly improving."