Ein weiteres Mosaiksteinchen im Puzzle "War wohl nix mit Abkopplung".
China's manufacturing activity nearing contraction By Chris Oliver, MarketWatch Last update: 6:26 a.m. EDT Sept. 1, 2008
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Manufacturing activity in China eased in August amid weaker global demand and Olympics-related factory shutdowns, although the pace of activity is believed to remain expansionary.
Inflation pressures also eased during the month, with input prices falling amid softer global demand and fewer needs from China's idled production lines during Beijing's 16-day sporting event.
The CLSA China Purchasing Managers Index, a measure of nationwide manufacturing activity, slumped to 49.2 in August from 53.3 in July, according to a release by the Hong Kong brokerage CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets Monday.
The China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing PMI in August, also released Monday, showed manufacturing activity unchanged from July at 48.4. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 generally indicates contraction.
Stripping out the effect of the Olympics-related factory closures, manufacturing activity as measured by the CLSA PMI would have fallen from July, but likely remained at about the break-even threshold, analysts said.
China shut factories, suspended infrastructure projects and restricted traffic in and around Beijing ahead of the games.
"Manufacturing activity in China is slowing but nowhere near as rapidly as the drop in the August PMI suggests," CLSA's head of economic research, Eric Fishwick, said. "The sharp month-on-month drop in the PMI should not therefore be regarded as an indication of things to come."
The CLSA figures point to the first contraction in manufacturing activity since November 2005. Putting aside the brake on activity brought about by Beijing closures, the broker noted, manufacturing activity has weakened amid softer global demand for Chinese-made goods. "Although the Olympics had a clear detrimental influence on production and new orders in August, there was also evidence of an underlying slowdown of the sector in line with the softening trend seen in recent months," CLSA said in a statement.
The new export-order component of the index fell to 49 from 51.8, representing the first dip below the break-even threshold in 21 months. The input-price component fell to a 13-month low of 61.5 in August from a record 86.1 in July.
The employment measures showed Chinese manufacturers in August shrank the size of their workforces for the first time since February.
Chris Oliver is MarketWatch's Asia bureau chief, based in Hong Kong. |