China s Purchasing Managers Index in August 2023 is 49.7%

1. Operation of China’s Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index

In August, the Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) was 49.7%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous month, and the level of manufacturing prosperity has further improved.

From the perspective of enterprise size, the PMIs of large, medium and small enterprises were 50.8%, 49.6% and 47.7% respectively, up 0.5, 0.6 and 0.3 percentage points from the previous month.

From the perspective of sub-indices, among the five sub-indices that constitute the manufacturing PMI, the production index, new order index and supplier delivery time index are higher than the critical point, while the raw material inventory index and the employment index are lower than the critical point.

The production index was 51.9%, an increase of 1.7 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the expansion of manufacturing production has strengthened.

The new orders index was 50.2%, an increase of 0.7 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the manufacturing market demand has improved.

The raw material inventory index was 48.4%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the decline in the inventory of major raw materials in the manufacturing industry continued to narrow.

The employment index was 48.0%, a slight decrease of 0.1 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the employment situation of manufacturing enterprises is basically stable.

Supplier delivery time index was 51.6%, an increase of 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the delivery time of manufacturing raw material suppliers has accelerated.

2. Operation of China’s Non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index

In August, the non-manufacturing business activity index was 51.0%, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the previous month, still higher than the threshold, and the non-manufacturing industry continued to expand.

In terms of industries, the business activity index of the construction industry was 53.8%, an increase of 2.6 percentage points from the previous month; the business activity index of the service industry was 50.5%, a decrease of 1.0 percentage points from the previous month. From the perspective of industry, the business activity index of railway transportation, air transportation, accommodation, catering, telecommunications, broadcasting, television and satellite transmission services, ecological protection and public facilities management, culture, sports and entertainment and other industries is in the relatively high prosperity range of above 55.0%; capital market services, The business activity indexes of industries such as insurance and real estate were below the critical point.

The new orders index was 47.5 percent, a decrease of 0.6 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the non-manufacturing market demand boom has declined. In terms of industries, the new orders index of the construction industry was 48.5 percent, an increase of 2.2 percentage points from the previous month; the new orders index of the service industry was 47.4 percent, a decrease of 1.0 percentage points from the previous month.

The input price index was 51.7 percent, an increase of 0.9 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the overall level of input prices used by non-manufacturing enterprises for business activities continued to rise. In terms of industries, the input price index of the construction industry was 48.4 percent, a decrease of 2.3 percentage points from the previous month; the input price index of the service industry was 52.3 percent, an increase of 1.5 percentage points from the previous month.

The sales price index was 50.0 percent, an increase of 0.3 percentage points from the previous month, and was at the critical point, indicating that the overall level of non-manufacturing sales prices was the same as that of the previous month. In terms of industries, the sales price index of the construction industry was 50.4 percent, a decrease of 1.6 percentage points from the previous month; the sales price index of the service industry was 49.9 percent, an increase of 0.6 percentage points from the previous month.

The employment index was 46.8%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that the employment boom of non-manufacturing enterprises has picked up. In terms of industries, the employment index of the construction industry was 44.7%, a decrease of 0.5 percentage points from the previous month; the employment index of the service industry was 47.2%, an increase of 0.4 percentage points from the previous month.

The business activity expectation index was 58.2%, a decrease of 0.8 percentage points from the previous month, and continued to be in a relatively high economic range, indicating that non-manufacturing companies are optimistic about the recent market recovery. In terms of industries, the business activity expectation index of the construction industry was 60.3 percent, a decrease of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month; the business activity expectation index of the service industry was 57.8 percent, a decrease of 0.9 percentage points from the previous month.

3. Operation of China’s Composite PMI Output Index

In August, the comprehensive PMI output index was 51.3%, an increase of 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, and continued to remain in the expansion range, indicating that the production and operation activities of Chinese enterprises have generally expanded steadily.