Chinese factory activity weakened in July to its lowest level since the start of the pandemic, data showed Saturday, as manufacturing was impacted by slowing demand, weak exports and extreme weather.
The Purchasing Managers’ Index , a key gauge of manufacturing activity in the world’s second-largest economy, dropped to 50.4 in July from June’s 50.9, the National Bureau of Statistics said.The reading appeared to be levelling out between April and June, and July shows the first marked decline, making it the lowest PMI figure since February 2020, analysts said.
China’s fragile economic recovery is threatened by a recent resurgence of the Delta variant of the coronavirus that is threatening to dampen holiday consumption over the summer.“On the whole, China’s economy continues to maintain expansion momentum, but the pace has slowed down,” said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.
Although Zhao did not refer to specific extreme weather events, deadly flooding in central Henan province caused over 70 deaths and billions of yuan worth of damage this month. Henan is home to key Foxconn plants that manufacture Apple iPhones. “Exports have been a main growth driver this year. This PMI data release makes me even more cautious about growth outlook in H2.”
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