Manufacturing sector activity in China contracted in August

Manufacturing sector activity in China also contracted in August due to the effect of the zero-COVID policy.

Manufacturing PMI, prepared by China's National Bureau of Statistics, rose to 49.4 points in August from 49.0 points in July, but remained below the break-even level of 50 points, continuing to point to contraction.

Economists had expected the manufacturing PMI to be 49.2 points in August.

In August, the new orders sub-index rose by 0.7 points, while the employment sub-index increased by 0.3 points. However, the supplier delivery times sub-index fell by 0.6 points due to the impact of new COVID cases.