Beijing: China’s manufacturing activity fell to a nine-month low in August, adding to fears that its economy is slowing faster than estimated.
The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.2, the lowest reading since November 2011, data released over the weekend has revealed.
PMI is a key gauge of manufacturing activity and a reading below 50 shows contraction.
According to the BBC, analysts said China’s manufacturing was being hurt by a slowdown in global and domestic demand.
“China’s manufacturing sector continues to struggle, weighed down by a significant domestic slowdown, a wholly unsupportive external climate and a completely insufficient policy response,” Alistair Thornton of IHS Global Insight said after the data was released.
According to the report, China’s economy grew at an annual rate of 7.6 percent in the second quarter, the slowest pace of growth in three years.
“The government has underestimated the pace of the slowdown and is behind the curve,” Thornton said.
China, prompted by fears of a sharp slowdown in the economy, has taken some measures to ease its policies in a bid to spur growth, the report said.
China’s central bank, the People''s Bank of China has lowered the amount of money banks must keep in their reserves, thrice in the past few months, in a bid to boost lending in the country, it added.
ANI
