A gauge of China’s factory activity remained in expansionary territory for an eighth consecutive month while activity in the services-and-construction sector hit a seven-year high, pointing to continued recovery across the world’s second-largest economy as it rebounds from the pandemic.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index, a key gauge of factory activity, slipped slightly to 51.4 in October from 51.5 in the previous month, according to data released Saturday in China by the National Bureau of Statistics. That was largely in line with economists’ expectations for a reading of 51.3.
Despite the deceleration, the official manufacturing PMI stood above the 50 mark that separates activity expansion from contraction for an unbroken run stretching back to March, signaling the robustness of an industrial sector that has been buoyed by strong export demand and stimulus-driven infrastructure investment.
The manufacturing data also showed strength beneath the headline numbers. While the subindex measuring production slipped to 53.9 from 54.0 in September, total new orders remained unchanged at a relatively strong 52.8. The subindex for new export orders rose to 51.0 in October, up from 50.8, topping the 50 mark for a second straight month.
Even more robust was China’s nonmanufacturing PMI, also released Saturday in China, which includes services-and-construction activity. That gauge rose to 56.2 in October from 55.9 in September and reaching the highest level since October 2013, according to the statistics bureau.
