China factory activity contracts for 5th month
Dec manufacturing PMI points to prolonged economic slowdown
Beijing
ACTIVITY in China's manufacturing sector contracted for a fifth straight month in December, an official survey showed on Friday, reinforcing fears that the world's second-largest economy may be stuck in a protracted slowdown despite a flurry of stimulus measures.
While China's services sector ended 2015 on a strong note, the economy still looked set to grow at its slowest pace in a quarter of a century, suggesting the government will have to step up support in 2016 to revive activity.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) stood at 49.7 in December, in line with expectations of economists polled by Reuters and up only fractionally from Nove…
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
International
The American small-business tyrant has a favourite political party
China’s prices are just too low for buyers to sweat about tariffs
Japan’s corporate service inflation perks up in March
New Zealand first-quarter imports fall amid sluggish economy
Hong Kong crypto ETF launches will test ambition to be digital-asset hub
UK pay settlements edge lower in first quarter: industry survey