Coronavirus outbreak: China’s manufacturing PMI drops

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The purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for China’s manufacturing sector stood at 35.7 in February, down from 50 in January, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said on Saturday. The sharp decline resulted from the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

In breakdown, all 21 surveyed industries of the manufacturing sector stayed in the contraction zone, but the impact of the virus varied in different industries, said Zhao. The PMI for industries, including chemical fiber and automobiles, were below 30, while that for food and beverages stayed above 42, supported by the government’s production and supply guarantee polices.

On a month-on-month basis, the sub-index for new orders came in at 29.3, 1.5 points higher than that for production, signaling a relatively good market demand in February, NBS data showed.

Imports and exports saw rising pressure in February, said Zhao, as the sub-indices for new export orders and imports declined to 28.7 and 31.9, respectively, affected by order cancellations and delays in delivery amid the epidemic.

Saturday’s data also showed China’s February composite PMI dropped marginally to 28.9 from 53 in January, indicating slower expansion in the overall production of China’s companies.

Although the epidemic has given a hard blow to the business activities of China’s enterprises in the short term, the growing positive trend of China’s fight against the virus and the gradual work and production resumption will bring down the negative impact and restore market confidence, said Zhao.

As of February 25, the work resumption rate in NBS surveyed large and mid-sized enterprises nationwide has reached 78.9 percent, and it is expected to climb to 90.8 percent by the end of March, according to the NBS.

Meanwhile, the recent supporting policies of easing tax and fee burdens, rent reductions and stabilising employment have been gradually implemented, which will effectively alleviate difficulties for enterprises and further boost their confidence, said Zhao.