2020.08.0301:50:00UTC+00China Manufacturing Sector Picks Up Steam In July - Caixin

The manufacturing sector in China continued to expand in July, and at a faster rate, the latest survey from Caixin revealed on Monday with a manufacturing PMI score of 52.8.

That beat expectations for a score of 51.3 and was up sharply from 51.2 in June.

Supporting the higher PMI figure was a steeper increase in production across Chinese manufacturing firms. Output expanded for the fifth month in a row, and at the fastest rate for nine-and-a-half years, with many companies citing greater client demand amid a further recovery in market conditions following the COVID-19 outbreak. Moreover, new business expanded at a solid pace that was the steepest since the start of 2011.

Rising new order intakes placed some pressure on capacity, as highlighted by a further increase in outstanding business. The rate of accumulation quickened since June but was modest overall. Although backlogs increased, companies cut their staffing levels again in July, albeit only slightly. Lower employment was generally attributed to efforts to increase efficiency, often through redundancies or the non-replacement of voluntary leavers.