China's factory activity grew at a slower pace in August as floods across southwestern Chinadisrupts production while smaller firms continued to struggle, potentially tempering a robust recovery for the economy from the mainland's coronavirus shock that began in December and spread to all provinces. China's vast industrial sector is steadily returning to the levels seen before the virus pandemic paralyzed huge swathes of the economy, as pent-up demand, stimulus-driven infrastructure expansion and surprisingly resilient exports propel a recovery,but the recovery remains uneven. In July, the NBS had said it expects official manufacturing PMI to remain at around 51 in the coming months, citing growth headwinds. Economic indicators ranging from trade to producer prices all suggest a further pick up in the industrial sector. Profits at China's industrial firms last month grew at the fastest pace since June 2018, official data showed on Thursday.-Reuters/Xinhua

Source: The Standard August 31, 2020 01:52 UTC