BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s factory activity expanded at a slightly slower pace in August, missing analysts’ expectations, dragged lower by disruptions from floods and adding to risks for the world’s second-largest economy as it emerges from the coronavirus shock.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) fell slightly to 51 in August from 51.1 in July, but remained above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.
Analysts had expected it to pick up slightly to 51.2.
China’s vast industrial sector is steadily returning to the levels seen before the pandemic paralysed huge swathes of the economy, as pent-up demand, stimulus-driven infrastructure expansion and surprisingly resilient exports propel a recovery, but the recovery remains uneven.
Private consumption has been stubbornly weak, with Chinese consumers turning cautious on purchases of everyday items as the COVID-19 pandemic cuts incomes and threatens millions of jobs.
(Reporting by Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
