China's January manufacturing business sentiment index fell below the previous month for the second straight month.
Although the level has exceeded the milestone level of economic judgment, the improvement in business sentiment has temporarily stagnated due to the spread of the new coronavirus infection.
Every month, the National Bureau of Statistics of China publishes the Manufacturing PMI = Purchasing Manager Business Confidence Index, which surveys 3,000 manufacturing companies.
This month's manufacturing PMI announced on the 31st was 51.3, down 0.6 points from last month.
The 50, which is the turning point of economic judgment, exceeded the previous month for 11 consecutive months, but fell below the previous month for 2 consecutive months.
This is because ▼ the number of people infected with the new coronavirus has increased again in Japan and production has decreased in some companies, and ▼ the demand for shopping due to the Christmas sales season has ended among exporters, and it is worldwide. This is due to a decrease in new orders due to the spread of infection.
In addition, the non-manufacturing PMI announced at the same time was 52.4, down 3.3 points from last month, and remains at a low level in transportation, accommodation, eating and drinking.
"Companies' production activity is generally expanding, but at a slower pace," statistics officials said.
After being hit by the spread of the new coronavirus, the Chinese economy turned to economic recovery and maintained positive growth last year, but the improvement in business sentiment has stagnated due to the spread of domestic and foreign infections. It has become.