China: the manufacturing index marks a contraction for the fourth consecutive month. Covid-zero strikes again
Activity at Chinese factories eased in November as widespread coronavirus curtailment disrupted production at manufacturers, a private sector survey showed on Thursday, weighing on jobs and fourth-quarter economic growth.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose slightly to 49.4 in November, from 49.2 the previous month, beating expectations from a Reuters poll of 48.9.
However, the reading marks the fourth consecutive monthly contraction, as the 50-point index separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.
The figure followed negative official survey data on Wednesday, with manufacturing activity falling to a seven-month low in November, hit by prolonged shutdowns and restrictions in several locations, including Beijing and Guangzhou. The Covid-zero policy is having its heavily negative effects on the country and the recent demonstrations will certainly not improve the situation. Furthermore, delivery times are lengthening and this is breaking the logistical chains, with strong probabilities that the results relating to the GDP of the last quarter will be disappointing.
Thus the sub-indexes of industrial production, employment and new export orders fell in November at a faster pace than in October. In particular, the sector has seen more difficulties in employment, with the rate of job losses reaching the fastest pace since February 2020, as some workers have been unable to return to work due to virus restrictions , while production constraints weighed on staffing levels.
At this point, the economy would need stability and an end to restrictive policies, but this would mean a clear change in the policies imposed by the CCP and, even if adjustments are underway, there do not seem to be any signs of a real reversal. So the Chinese economy will continue to be in the gray.
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The article China: the manufacturing index marks a contraction for the fourth consecutive month. Covid-zero strikes again comes from Economic Scenarios .
This is a machine translation of a post published on Scenari Economici at the URL https://scenarieconomici.it/cina-lindice-manifatturiero-segna-contrazione-per-il-quarto-mese-successivo-il-covid-zero-colpisce-ancora/ on Thu, 01 Dec 2022 08:00:52 +0000.