SHANGHAI (Reuters) -China’s manufacturing activity shrank for a fifth straight month in August, an official survey showed on Sunday, suggesting producers are waiting for further clarity on a trade deal with the U.S. while domestic demand remains sluggish.
The official purchasing managers’ index (PMI) rose to 49.4 in August versus 49.3 in July, remaining below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction and missing a median forecast of 49.5 in a Reuters poll.
China’s economy is confronting weakening exports due to U.S. tariffs, a property sector downturn, rising job insecurity, heavily indebted local governments and extreme weather. These pressures threaten to derail Beijing’s ambitious 2025 growth target of “around 5%,” according to economists.
The non-manufacturing PMI index, which includes services and construction, expanded at a quicker pace, rising to 50.3 from 50.1 in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
The NBS composite PMI of manufacturing and non-manufacturing was 50.5 in August, compared with 50.2 in July.
(Reporting by Liz Lee and Shi Bu; Writing by Joe Cash; Editing by Jamie Freed)
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