I. Operation of China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index

China’s manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) remained above the critical point at 50.1 per cent in August, down 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, as the expansion of the manufacturing sector weakened.

1From the perspective of enterprise size, the PMI of large enterprises was 50.3%, down 1.4 percentage points from the previous month, continuing to be higher than the critical point; The PMI of medium-sized enterprises was 51.2%, up 1.2 percentage points from the previous month, higher than the critical point; Small business PMI was 48.2%, up 0.4 percentage points from the previous month, below the critical point.

From the perspective of the sub-index, in the five sub-indexes that constitute the manufacturing PMI, the production index is higher than the critical point, and the new order index, raw material inventory index, employment index and supplier distribution time index are lower than the critical point.

The production index was 50.9%, slightly down 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, higher than the critical point, indicating that the expansion of manufacturing production was generally stable.

The new orders index was 49.6%, down 1.3 percentage points from the previous month, below the critical point, indicating that demand in the manufacturing market has weakened.

The raw material inventory index was 47.7%, although the same as the previous month, but still below the critical point, indicating that the inventory of major raw materials in the manufacturing industry has declined from the previous month.

The employment index was 49.6%, unchanged from the previous month, but still below the critical point, indicating that demand for labor in manufacturing enterprises has fallen slightly.

The supplier delivery time index was 48.0%, down 0.9 percentage points from the previous month, lower than the critical point, indicating that the delivery time of manufacturing raw material suppliers has been extended.

2Second, the operation of China’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers index

In August, the non-manufacturing business activity index was 47.5%, 5.8 percentage points lower than the previous month, falling below the critical point, indicating that the impact of the recent epidemic in many provinces and other factors, the prosperity of the non-manufacturing industry fell significantly.

4By industry, the construction business activity index was 60.5%, up from 3.0 percentage points in the previous month. Business activity in the services sector was 45.2 per cent, down 7.3 percentage points from the previous month. In terms of industry conditions, the business activity index of road transport, air transport, accommodation, catering, culture, sports and entertainment industries dropped significantly below the critical point; The business activity index of wholesale, postal, telecommunications, radio, television and satellite transmission services, monetary and financial services, capital market services and other industries is higher than the critical point.

6The new orders index was 42.2%, down 7.5 percentage points from the previous month, below the critical point, indicating that demand in the non-manufacturing market has weakened. By industry, the new orders index of the construction industry was 51.4%, up 1.4 percentage points from the previous month; The new orders index for the service sector was 40.5%, down 9.2 percentage points from the previous month.

The input price index was 51.3%, down 2.2 percentage points from the previous month, higher than the critical point, indicating that the price of inputs used by non-manufacturing enterprises for business activities narrowed compared with the previous month. By industry, the construction input price index was 55.3%, 1.8 percentage points lower than the previous month; The service sector input price index was 50.5%, down 2.3 percentage points from the previous month.

The sales price index was 49.3 percent, down 2.0 percentage points from the previous month, below the critical point, indicating a decline in non-manufacturing sales prices. By industry, the sales price index of the construction industry was 53.6%, up 0.7 percentage points from the previous month; The service sector sales price index was 48.5 percent, down 2.6 percentage points from the previous month.

The employment index was 47.0%, down 1.2 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the employment sentiment of non-manufacturing enterprises has decreased. By industry, the construction industry employment index was 50.6%, 1.5 percentage points lower than the previous month; The service sector employment index was 46.4 percent, down 1.1 percentage points from the previous month.

The business activity expectation index was 57.4%, down 3.3 percentage points from the previous month, still located in the higher boom range, indicating that with the effective control of the epidemic, non-manufacturing enterprises’ confidence in the recent market development is generally stable. By industry, the expected business activity index of the construction industry was 58.4%, down 5.6 percentage points from the previous month; The service sector business activity expectation index was 57.3 percent, down 2.8 percentage points from the previous month.