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People's Daily Online>>China Business

Manufacturing activity contracts on sluggish demand

By Fang Yunyu (Global Times)

11:02, December 02, 2011

China's factory output shrunk in November, which indicates sluggish demand at home and abroad is weighing on the country's manufacturing sector, according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

The bureau announced yesterday that the Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), a key gauge of manufacturing activity, fell to 49.0 last month from October's 50.4, first time below 50 since March 2009.

And the HSBC PMI for November also dropped to 47.7 from October's 51.

A PMI reading of more than 50 represents expansion, while a reading below 50 means contraction.

"The weakening external demand, tight monetary policy, and cooling housing market are all reasons behind the slowdown in the industrial production," Yi Xianrong, director of the Financial Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, told the Global Times.

The November PMI figure shows China's manufacturing sector will face difficulties, and the economy will probably witness "an apparent slowdown in the coming months", Nomura Securities International said in a note yesterday.

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