No surprise in the HSBC China manufacturing PMI: 50.4 as expected, unchanged from the preliminary figure.
Demand from the US is supporting manufacturing in China. Even still, the world’s second-largest economy is headed for the slowest full-year expansion since 1990.
Average input costs and prices charged both declined at the fastest rates since March, the report showed, suggesting factory-gate deflation is deepening.
Higher new-export business was attributed to stronger demand from customers across a number of key export markets, it said.
"Overall, the manufacturing sector continued to stabilise in October, however the sequential momentum likely weakened," said Hongbin Qu, chief economist for China at HSBC.
"We still see uncertainties, given the property downturn as well as the slow pace of global recovery, and expect further monetary and fiscal easing measures in the months ahead."
