China’s manufacturing activity in October contracted more than expected, shrinking to the lowest level in six months, an official survey showed on Friday, as trade tensions with Washington reignited during the month.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 49.0, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed, missing economists’ expectations for 49.6 in a Reuters poll. A reading above the 50 benchmark indicates growth while one below that suggests contraction.
The latest reading reversed the recovery in recent months, after the PMI rose to a six-month high of 49.8 in September, compared to 49.4 in August and 49.3 in July.
The country’s manufacturing activity has remained in contraction since April, when U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariff campaign pressured Chinese factories as well as global demand.
China’s economy expanded 4.8% in the third quarter, marking the slowest growth in a year. Adding to the constraint on the economy, fixed-asset investment unexpectedly contracted 0.5% in the first nine months of the year — the first such decline since 2020 during the pandemic — according to data going back to 1992 from Wind Information.
