The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 51.9 in December, edging down by 0.2 percentage points from November, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. In November, the PMI for manufacturing was at 52.1, up from 51.4 in October. The official PMI, which largely focuses on big and state-owned firms, showed the sub-index for new export orders stood at 51.3 in December, easing from 51.5 a month earlier. A sub-index for small business activity stood at 48.8 in December, sharply down from November's 50.1 and returning to contractionary territory. A sub-index for employment in the official PMI stood at 49.6 in December, slightly up from November's 49.5.

Source: The Standard December 31, 2020 01:28 UTC