China’s Manufacturing Sector Contracts in October

Economy

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) slipped to 49.2 in October, down from 49.6 in September and representing a second consecutive month of contraction for the country’s manufacturing sector (a value below 50 indicates contraction), according to the National Bureau of Statistics. High raw material prices and a slowdown in domestic demand weighed on factory output, with October the second-lowest manufacturing PMI (after February 2020) in 32 months.