China Manufacturing Growth Eases in October But Remains Strong

Factory activity in China declined marginally in October, according to official data published on Saturday, but remained in growth territory as the world's second-largest economy continued to rebound after being hammered by coronavirus.

The closely tracked Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) is a key indicator of manufacturing activity in China, which has largely rebounded after plummeting in February due to extreme pandemic control measures, reports AFP.

In October, the PMI figure was 51.4, marginally below the September reading of 51.5. Any figure above the 50-point mark indicates development while a contraction is indicated below.

Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician at the National Bureau of Statistics ( NBS), said that this month 's results, with rises in a range of main indices, including exports , imports and new orders, showed "fast recovery."

“Manufacturing in major economies is bouncing back… and a recovery in demand has driven up prices,” Zhao said.

Textiles, chemical raw materials, chemical goods, rubber and plastic products used in the battle against the pandemic have seen the greatest rise in demand, he said.

In February, China's manufacturing PMI plummeted to 35.7 points after the coronavirus brought a major part of China to a standstill.

Non-manufacturing PMI came in at 55.2 points — an increase of 0.3 percentage points from September, showing further signs of an economic rebound.

China is expected to be the only major economy to record positive growth this year.

The International Monetary Fund almost doubled the country's growth forecast in 2020 to 1.9% as a result of a robust recovery driven by its ability to contain its coronavirus outbreak and strong global demand for medical equipment.

According to official statistics, the world's second-largest economy expanded by 4.9% in the third quarter of the previous year.

That was a rebound from a record contraction in the first three months as strict lock-down measures ended and the government launched a stimulus package to shield the economy from the pandemic.