| |
| |
 |
| |
|
| |
|
| |
|
BEIJING: Manufacturing in China contracted for the first time in 16 months in July, an independent survey showed Monday, boosting Chinese shares amid hopes policymakers will hold off on new tightening moves.
The HSBC China Manufacturing PMI, or purchasing managers index, fell to 49.4 last month from 50.4 in June -- the first time it dropped below the neutral 50 threshold since March 2009, the bank said.
A reading above 50 means the sector is expanding, while below 50 indicates an overall decline.
"This suggests that manufacturing production growth continued to decelerate last month, reflecting the combined effect of credit tightening, property cooling measures and Beijing's measures to cut capacity in energy-intensive sectors," said HSBC chief China economist Qu Hongbin.
Qu however said the world's third-largest economy was still expected to grow around nine per cent in the rest of this year and 2011 despite the slowdown, thanks to huge infrastructure spending and resilient private consumption.
A separate survey published by a government agency on Sunday showed manufacturing activity slowed to 51.2 last month from 52.1 in June.
HSBC's results are based on interviews with purchasing managers at more than 400 companies, while the survey by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing covers more than 700 firms.
Meanwhile, inflationary pressures eased substantially, with the measures
for output charges and input prices falling almost 17 and 30 points
respectively since the start of the year, the bank said.
The softening PMI data in July raised expectations that authorities would be unlikely to launch new tightening measures to avoid a sharp economic slowdown, sending Chinese shares up 0.39 per cent in early trade Monday.
The Shanghai Composite Index, which covers both A and B shares, was up 10.28 points at 2,647.78.
China's economic growth slowed in the second quarter, as massive stimulus spending was scaled back and moves to rein in soaring property prices started to bite.
But gross domestic product nevertheless maintained its double-digit growth for the third quarter in a row, expanding 10.3 per cent in the three months to June.
- AFP/jm
|
