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Chinese manufacturing shrinks as exports tumble
Manufacturing in China shrank for an eighth successive month as China’s economy faced tumbling demand abroad and a fall-off in orders at home, according to a leading tracking index.
By Peter Foster in Beijing
Last Updated: 12:31PM BST 01 Apr 2009
The CLSA China Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a closely-watched indicator published on the first of each month, fell to 44.8 in March from 45.1 the previous month. Any number below 50 indicates manufacturing has contracted.
“Business conditions at Chinese manufacturers continued to deteriorate at a marked rate in March,” said CLSA, which draws its data from a survey of more than 400 manufacturers conducted by UK-based Markit Economics.
Eric Fishwick, head of economic research at CLSA, said the PMI showed the danger of failing to wait until the new stimulus projects planned to come on stream later in the year were actually rolled out.
"A worsening of domestic manufacturing orders lies behind the drop in the PMI and accords with what we are seeing on the ground in the steel industry," Fishwick said in a statement.
However exports, which fell by more than 25 per cent year on year in February, remain chronically weak, and economists warn of the danger of over-capacity in much of China’s industry.
Manufacturing in China shrank for an eighth successive month as China’s economy faced tumbling demand abroad and a fall-off in orders at home, according to a leading tracking index.
By Peter Foster in Beijing
Last Updated: 12:31PM BST 01 Apr 2009
The CLSA China Purchasing Managers Index (PMI), a closely-watched indicator published on the first of each month, fell to 44.8 in March from 45.1 the previous month. Any number below 50 indicates manufacturing has contracted.
“Business conditions at Chinese manufacturers continued to deteriorate at a marked rate in March,” said CLSA, which draws its data from a survey of more than 400 manufacturers conducted by UK-based Markit Economics.
Eric Fishwick, head of economic research at CLSA, said the PMI showed the danger of failing to wait until the new stimulus projects planned to come on stream later in the year were actually rolled out.
"A worsening of domestic manufacturing orders lies behind the drop in the PMI and accords with what we are seeing on the ground in the steel industry," Fishwick said in a statement.
However exports, which fell by more than 25 per cent year on year in February, remain chronically weak, and economists warn of the danger of over-capacity in much of China’s industry.
