中文
China's factory activity picked up in July despite still in contraction for a fourth month running, suggesting limited improvement in industrial activity.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 49.3 in July, up from 49.0 in June, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on July 31. The 50-mark separates expansion from contraction in activities.
Subindex for new orders remained in the contraction zone at 49.5 in July, slightly up from 48.6 a month prior, while new export orders slipped further from 46.4 to 46.3. The month, however, saw a significant rise in raw materials purchase price, from 45.0 to 52.4.
Production subindex fell from 50.3 to 50.2, but the continued expansion suggested good producing activities in the sector.
Among 21 surveyed industries, 10 recorded a rise in PMI from a month earlier, with the number up by two compared with a month ago, the NBS data showed.
With the introduction of a series of policies aimed at promoting the development of the private economy and boosting domestic demand to stimulate consumption, the market has seen a continuous increase in positive factors, leading to enhanced confidence among enterprises.
In particular, the subindex of business activity expectation for the consumer goods industry has remained consistently above 55.0% since the beginning of the year and has risen to 58.0% this month, indicating that enterprises have optimistic expectations for the industry's development in the near future, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.
The official non-manufacturing PMI, which measures business sentiment in the services and construction sectors, shrunk to 51.5 in July from 52.8 in June.
The official composite PMI, which includes both manufacturing and services activity, fell to 51.1 in July, down from 52.3 a month earlier.
"From the perspective of market expectations, the subindex of business activity expectation is 58.7%, maintaining a relatively high level. Among the 21 surveyed industries, except for the real estate industry, the subindex of other industries is all within the expansion range, indicating stable confidence among service industry enterprises," said Zhao.
(Writing by Alex Guo Editing by Emma Yang)
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