November PMI at 48.6, Marking the Ninth Straight Month of Manufacturing

A reading above 50 denotes growth, while one under 50 denotes a contraction in the manufacturing sector.

Away from China’s factories, an official gauge of non-manufacturing activity for November stood at 53.6, showing expansion.

And despite more positive PMI figures for China’s service industries, several economists predicted that the Chinese government would have to take further stimulus measures to boost the economy.

Indian manufacturers indicated that new business inflows rose in November, which marked a 25-month sequence of expansion.

British manufacturing growth slowed last month from the rapid pace recorded in October.

China’s all-important factory sector is losing steam, with manufacturing activity slumping to a three-year low in November, as concerns grow over the economy.

Euro zone manufacturing growth picked up to a 19-month high in November but the pace was still relatively modest and with firms cutting prices for a third month, expectations for further easing from the European Central Bank on Thursday will solidify.

It said while supply-side constraints (mainly load shedding) had alleviated somewhat over the recent months, the impact of the drought and possible water restrictions were a key risk going forward.

“Macro challenges remain but business confidence is likely to improve as members of the newly formed Federal Executive Council begin to unveil both general and sectoral policy direction”.

The PMI also showed a continued fall in input costs in November.

Under the PMI, the manufacturing sector is divided into eight broad categories of basic metals, chemicals and plastics, electrical and optical, food and drink, mechanical engineering, textiles and clothing, timber and paper and transport.

The dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rival currencies, edged down to 100.14, but remained within sight of its more than 12-year high of 100.39 hit in March. Some observers expect further cuts in interest rates and bank’s reserve requirement ratio – which has been cut several times in the past year – to encourage lending to businesses.

Markit’s surveys have painted a brighter picture of British manufacturing than official data, which has shown the sector stagnant or contracting since the start of the year.

The release of the PMI comes less than a week after BER also reported local business confidence fell to a six-year low in the final quarter.