China’s manufacturing contracted for the third consecutive month in October in a sign of weakness in the world’s second-largest economy, official data showed yesterday. Analysts polled expect US employers outside the agricultural sector to have added 180,000 jobs in October and overall earnings to have increased by 0.20 percent during the month.
Advertisement
“Buoyant as orders from a few exports markets may have been, the appreciation of sterling and the impact this has on competitiveness within our main export market, the eurozone, continues to test United Kingdom manufacturers”.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), tracking activity in the factory and workshop sector, was unchanged from the previous month at 49.8, the statistics office said.
But Monday’s survey showed new export orders increased to their highest level since August 2014.
Britain’s economic growth slowed to 0.5 per cent in the July-September period, preliminary official data showed earlier this month, hurt in part by a contraction in the manufacturing sector for the third quarter in a row. According to a report released by research firm Markit, it was stated that German manufacturing PMI rose to a seasonally adjusted 52.1 as compared to a reading of 51.6 in the preceding month.
A sub-index covering new orders dropped to a two-year low of 51.2 from 52.5 as the uncertain economic climate deterred clients from committing to new projects, Markit said.
“The strong demand data in the first eight months was inconsistent with the observed slowing macroeconomic activity, while the weak number in September better reflected real demand”, the bank said. The latest reading was the highest recorded since October 2014, which reflected faster rates of expansion in production and new orders and a return to growth in both employment and stock building. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 Index fell 1.1%, led by banks and telephone companies, while New Zealand’s S&P/NZX 50 Index was little changed.
Meanwhile Japan and Vietnam reported a growth in factory activity for October.
Advertisement
The survey index when above a reading of 50 indicates an economy in expansion, whilst any readings below the 50 level indicate a contracting economy.
