China sees first manufacturing decline in 2.5 years - Reuters
As reported by Reuters, China's contractionary PMI sees an economic slowdown beginning to pick up speed after the first PMI contraction in over two and a half years.
Key quotes
The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.4 in December, below the critical 50-point level that separates growth from contraction, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Monday.
There are already signs trade frictions between the economic giants are hurting global supply chains with concerns the effects could become more pronounced next year in a blow to world trade and investment.
Chinese authorities are expected to roll out more supportive measures on top of a range of policy initiatives this year. A prolonged downturn in the factory sector, key for jobs and the overall health of the economy, would likely draw further steps to juice up domestic demand.
New export orders contracted for a seventh straight month on faltering external demand, with the sub-index falling to 46.6 from the previous month’s reading of 47.0.
Author
Joshua Gibson
FXStreet
Joshua joins the FXStreet team as an Economics and Finance double major from Vancouver Island University with twelve years' experience as an independent trader focusing on technical analysis.
