China's factory activity shrinks for 5th month
The nation's manufacturing activity contracted for a fifth straight month in August, an official survey showed on Thursday, maintaining pressure on officials to provide support to shore up economic growth amid soft demand both at home and abroad. On the brighter side, new orders reverted to expansion for the first time in five months and factory owners indicated that producer prices were improving for the first time in seven months, although the vast services sector continued to trend downwards. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 49.7 from 49.3 in July, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, staying below the 50-point level demarcating contraction from expansion. The reading was above a forecast of 49.4. The PMI provides the first clue about how the world's second-largest economy fared in August, following a torrid run of trade, factory and retail data in July. However, in a hopeful sign for growth, conditions did not materially worsen even though the survey showed factories were under persistent pressure. China's major manufacturing rivals in the region Japan and South Korea also reported sharp declines in output on Thursday. Over the weekend, Beijing announced a halving in stock-trading stamp duties, the first cut to the tax since 2008, and on Friday approved guidelines for affordable housing to improve access to first-home mortgages. The fresh moves came after a raft of measures aimed at reviving big-ticket purchases, notably of new-energy vehicles. (Reuters)