China News Service, Beijing, August 31 (Reporter Wang Enbo) The National Bureau of Statistics of China announced on August 31 that due to the recent domestic epidemic and flood conditions, China’s manufacturing purchasing manager index (PMI) in August was 50.1%, compared with the previous month. It fell by 0.3 percentage points and continued to remain in the expansion range.

  Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician at the Service Industry Survey Center of the National Bureau of Statistics, said that in August, the expansion of the manufacturing industry has weakened and the economy has narrowed.

Among the 21 industries surveyed, 10 industries have PMIs in the boom range, a decrease of 3 from the previous month.

  Production activities were generally stable during the month, but market demand has weakened.

In August, the new orders index was 49.6%, 1.3 percentage points lower than the previous month, and fell below the threshold.

The new order index of high energy-consuming industries dropped significantly this month, which has significantly negatively driven the overall manufacturing industry. Among them, the new order index of petroleum, coal and other fuel processing, chemical fiber and rubber and plastic products has been below the threshold for three consecutive months. Reflects the continued decline in market demand.

  The price index also dropped.

The purchase price index and ex-factory price index of major raw materials were 61.3% and 53.4%, respectively, 1.6 and 0.4 percentage points lower than last month, and the difference between the two price indices narrowed for three consecutive months, down from 12.2 percentage points in May. 7.9 percentage points.

  However, the company's confidence in market development remains stable.

In August, the production and operation activity expectation index was 57.5%, which continued to be in a relatively high boom range. Among the 21 industries surveyed, except for the textile industry and ferrous metal smelting and rolling processing industries, other industries were above the threshold.

  It is worth noting that in August, the non-manufacturing business activity index was 47.5%, which was 5.8 percentage points lower than the previous month. It was the first time since March 2020 that it fell below the threshold.

According to Zhao Qinghe's analysis, the multi-province and multi-point epidemic has brought a greater impact to the service industry that is still in the process of recovery. The service industry business activity index was 45.2%, which was 7.3 percentage points lower than last month, and fell below the threshold for the first time this year.

  In terms of market expectations, the business activity expectation index for the month was 57.3%, which is in a relatively high boom range, indicating that as the epidemic is effectively controlled and the Mid-Autumn Festival and National Day holidays approaching, companies are more optimistic about the service market recovery in the near future.

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