cross-posted from: https://lemmy.sdf.org/post/46467077 > Archived > > China’s factory activity fell for an eighth straight month in November while activity in services hit a three-year low, showing how persistent weak demand is affecting the country’s economic outlook despite a trade truce with the US. > > The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose marginally to 49.2 this month, according to official data released on Sunday. A reading below 50 shows a contraction in activity. > > Another index tracking non-manufacturing business sectors, including services and construction, fell to 49.5, down from 50.1 last month. It is the first reading below 50 in nearly three years. > > The results were driven by seasonal factors and the fading effect of a boost in consumption during a week-long public holiday in October, said Huo Lihui, chief statistician of the service industry survey centre of the National Bureau of Statistics. > > The data follows efforts by China and the US to curb hostilities over trade, following a meeting last month between presidents Xi Jinping and Donald Trump. The countries agreed to postpone reciprocal export restrictions and China also agreed to resume purchases of American soyabeans, a point of contention between the two sides on trade. > > […] > > Chinese policymakers are struggling to rein in overcapacity and excessive competition in some industries — a problem Beijing calls “involution” — while addressing weak consumer confidence and deflationary pressures during a property market downturn and weak jobs market. > > Official data showed annual retail sales rose only 2.9 per cent in October, their slowest pace in over a year. Throughout the year the government has tried to increase domestic demand through a trade-in programme that allows households to buy subsidised goods but overall consumption remains subdued. > > […]