China's purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector stayed at 50.6 percent in December, unchanged compared with November, according to China’s National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
In November, the figure rose to 50.6 percent from 50.2 percent in October. December was the third consecutive month in which the PMI figure was above the threshold of 50 percent, which demarcates expansion from contraction.
As regards the various sub-indices, the input prices index of main raw materials for the Chinese manufacturing sector in December was up 3.2 percentage points to 53.3 percent from a month earlier. In the given month, the production index for China’s manufacturing sector decreased by 0.5 points month on month to 52.0 percent, while the new order index for the sector, at 51.2 percent, remained neutral compared to the previous month. The raw material inventory index for China’s manufacturing sector was 47.3 percent, indicating a month-on-month decrease of 0.6 points.
Also in December, the employment index for China’s manufacturing sector stood at 49.0 percent, up 0.3 percentage points compared to November, while the supplier delivery time index for China’s manufacturing sector was at 48.8 percent, down 1.1 percentage points compared to November.
However, the new export order sub-index witnessed a slight month-on-month decline of less than one percentage point.