An official gauge of China’s manufacturing activity indicated contraction for a second consecutive month in November, signaling continued weakness in the economy despite Beijing’s recent efforts to juice up growth amid a protracted housing slump.
China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index slipped to 49.4 in November from 49.5 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. A reading above 50 indicates an expansion in activity while a reading below it indicates contraction.
The result missed the forecast of 49.8 by a Wall Street Journal poll of economists.
Meanwhile, China’s nonmanufacturing PMI, which covers both service and construction activity, fell to 50.2 in November, compared with 50.6 in October, the statistics bureau said.