Arabic version: نشاط المصانع في الصين يعود إلى النمو في سبتمبر

According to Cnbc, China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose to 50.1 in September from 49.8 in August, ending a two-month contractionary streak. The reading matched the forecast for a modest expansion in a Reuters poll.

The National Bureau of Statistics said the improvement was driven by faster activity in equipment manufacturing, high-tech-related manufacturing and consumer industries. A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below that level signals contraction.

China’s non-manufacturing PMI also moved back into expansionary territory, reaching 50.2. Business activity picked up in services, while the construction-sector reading reached its highest level of the year, the report said.

Manufacturers have benefited from the AI hardware boom, but weak domestic consumer demand remains a concern. Higher energy costs linked to the Middle East war have also weighed on margins. Exports, one of the few drivers of the economy this year, are facing pressure as trading partners raise concerns about excess manufacturing capacity and China’s reliance on foreign demand.

China’s top economic and financial policymakers unveiled targeted fiscal and monetary measures Tuesday to reduce financing costs and increase central bank lending. Nomura economists said the measures were not sufficient to bolster growth, while Goldman Sachs economists said they were more important as a policy signal than as a near-term growth impulse. Goldman said the mortgage subsidy could support housing demand and lift home sales in the short term.