MADRID, 31 Oct. (EUROPA PRESS) -

The Chinese economy has once again shown signs of weakness in October as a result of the outbreak of Covid-19 and the impact of the global economic context, as reflected by the weakness of the purchasing managers' indices (PMI) for both the services sector and the industry, which in October have once again registered a contraction in activity.

"It is necessary to continue to consolidate the foundations for economic recovery and development," said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician at the National Statistical Office (NSO) of China.

In the case of the manufacturing PMI, the figure for October has dropped to 49.2 percentage points from 50.1 the previous month, its worst reading since last July.

Specifically, in October, the production index was 49.6%, a decrease of 1.9 percentage points compared to the previous month, while the figure for new orders was 48.1%, compared to 49.8% September, and employment was 48.3%, a decrease of 0.7 percentage points from the previous month.

In turn, the supplier delivery time index was 47.1%, compared to 48.7% the previous month, although the data on raw material inventories was 47.7%, an increase of 0. 1 percentage point compared to September.

On its side, China's non-manufacturing PMI fell in October to 48.7 percentage points from 50.6 in September, its worst reading since last May.

In view of the different industries, the business activity index of the construction industry was 58.2%, compared to 60.2% in the previous month, and the index of the services sector was 47%, 1.9 points percentage less than the previous month.

Thus, the composite PMI for the Chinese economy as a whole in October stood at 49%, compared to 50.9% the previous month, which indicates a contraction in activity.