BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s factory activity expanded in July at the slowest pace in 17 months as higher raw material costs, equipment maintenance and extreme weather weighed on business activity, adding to concerns about a slowdown in the world’s second-biggest economy. An NBS official said in a statement the PMI’s sub-index for production slipped to 51.0 from 51.9 in June, pointing to equipment maintenance and extreme weather. A sub-index for raw material costs stood at 62.9 in July, compared with June’s 61.2, pointing to an increase in costs. High raw material prices have eaten into the profitability of industrial firms and deterred some Chinese exporters from taking on orders. However, manufacturers are grappling with new challenges including higher raw material prices, surging logistics costs and global supply chain bottlenecks, and the pace of gross domestic product growth is expected to moderate.

Source: MetroXpress July 31, 2021 02:26 UTC