China's manufacturing recovery weakens in December

 China’s manufacturing activity improved in December but at its weakest rate in three months as ecomy recovered from coronavirus pandemic while its trading partners struggled with rising infections, according to two surveys.

A monthly purchasing manrs’ index issued Monday by a business magazine, Caixin, slipped to 53 from vember’s 54.9 on a 100-point scale on which numbers above 50 show activity expanding. A separate PMI by an official industry group, China Federation of Logistics & Purchasing, declined to 51.9 from previous month’s 52.1.

China is only major ecomy on track to record positive ecomic growth in 2020 while United States and Europe struggle with rising case numbers that have prompted governments to re-impose travel and business controls.

Sub-indexes of exports and employment in both surveys rose but at a slower rate than December.

“We expect ecomic recovery in post-epidemic era to continue for several months,” ecomist Wang Zhe of Caixin Insight Group said in a statement.

Caixin said a sub-indicator of business confidence in its survey dipped to a three-month low.

“We need to pay attention to mounting pressure on costs" due to higher raw material prices, Wang said. That is “particularly important” as regulators decide how to withdraw ecomic stimulus.

(Im credit: AP)