By Yukun Zhang and Liz Lee
BEIJING, Aug 31 (Reuters) – China’s factory activity improved in August on stronger demand but remained in contraction for a second straight month, while services and construction activity stayed weak, underscoring deepening imbalances in the economy.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) picked up to 49.8 from 49.2 in July, remaining below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction, according to a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics released on Monday. It beat the median forecast of 49.6 in a Reuters poll.
NBS data showed both demand and output improved in August, with sub-indexes for new orders and production returning to expansion territory above 50.
Zhiwei Zhang, president and chief economist at Pinpoint Asset Management, said it was too early to conclude the economy had rebounded.
The non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI), which covers services and construction, remained unchanged at 49.0, matching July’s reading, the weakest since December 2022.
The data suggests that China continued to rely on manufacturing and exports to drive growth as domestic consumption and investment deteriorated, potentially reducing pressure on policymakers to provide additional support for the economy despite deepening economic imbalances.
Zhang Liqun, an analyst with the China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, said that with the manufacturing PMI reading still in contraction, business confidence remained unstable.
“Continued government investment in public goods should be strengthened to effectively drive increased orders for businesses, continuously consolidate and enhance business confidence, and further strengthen factors contributing to economic stabilisation and recovery.”
Economic data released earlier this month showed that growth remained under pressure at the start of the second half, with goods consumption and industrial output both slowing.
Fixed-asset investment extended declines and the property market is still struggling to find a bottom more than five years into a slump.
Exports remained a growth driver, helped by robust demand for AI-related shipments that lifted prices for Chinese-made high-tech goods, but the profit squeeze felt by manufacturers relying on domestic demand weighed on overall industrial profits.
China’s top leaders pledged in late July to introduce additional policies to support the economy as growth slowed to a more-than-three-year low of 4.3% in the second quarter, and vowed to accelerate fiscal spending on already-budgeted infrastructure projects for the remainder of the year.
The finance ministry recently expanded loan interest subsidies for small private firms and consumers to spur demand, while the central bank said this month it would roll out measures without signalling explicit cuts to policy rates or banks’ reserve-requirement ratio.
In a sign the government will not unveil major stimulus, an article published this month in the People’s Daily, the Communist Party’s official newspaper, said China is not excessively reliant on strong policy stimulus and that it is capable of achieving its annual economic growth target.
(Reporting by Yukun Zhang and Liz Lee; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
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