China’s Manufacturing Slump Deepens: Factories Freeze for 6th Month – Experts Warn of Lingering Weakness
China’s official manufacturing PMI in September was 49.8, up slightly from 49.4 in August but still indicating contraction bloomberg.com reuters.com. This means more factories are shrinking output than expanding. September marked the sixth consecutive month the PMI stayed below 50, the longest downturn since mid-2019 bloomberg.com. Reuters notes this “prolonged slump” reflects the economy’s struggle with weak demand and trade pressures reuters.com reuters.com. As one analyst put it, “The rebound reflects a seasonal uptick… but a continued upcycle is still some way off” given capacity and global headwinds reuters.com. Bloomberg also highlighted that while the PMI edged up from 49.4 to 49.8, it still marked the longest factory contraction streak in six years bloomberg.com. Despite the modest rise, the index remains below forecasts and well under the 50-point expansion threshold bloomberg.com. In short, China’s factories are still sputtering rather than surging.
