China Focus: China's factory sector shows resilience

BEIJING, Dec. 31 (Xinhua) -- China's manufacturing sector continued to expand in December, pointing to economic resilience in the country's factory sector.

The country's manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 51.6 in December, slightly decelerating from 51.8 in November, according to National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data released Sunday.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while below reflects contraction.

The index in December is on par with the annual average, pointing to a strong resilience in China's growth, according to NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

Sub-indices for production and new orders came in at 54 and 53.4, respectively, down from 54.3 and 53.6 last month, but well above the boom-bust line of 50.

However, the sub-index of raw material inventory stood at 48 in December, down 0.4 points from last month, indicating continuously decreasing raw material inventory in the manufacturing sector.

Meanwhile, the sub-index of supplier deliveries declined 0.2 points month on month to 49.3, showing a slower delivery by raw material suppliers.

The manufacturing sector employed less people as the sub-index of employment dropped 0.3 percentage points month on month to 48.5 in December.

"Factory employment continued to contract slightly -- a mismatch with expanding output that might reflect the advance of automation," according to Tom Orlik, Bloomberg chief Asia economist.

The country's manufacturing PMI has been in positive territory for 17 months in a row despite overall slower expansion this month.

The NBS data also showed that the country's non-manufacturing sector expanded faster in December, with non-manufacturing PMI coming in at 55 in December, up from 54.8 in November.

The service sector, which accounted for more than half of the country's gross domestic product, continued steady growth, with the sector's business activity index standing at 53.4 in December, well above the boom-bust line of 50, although declining 0.2 points month on month.

The new order index of the non-manufacturing businesses stood at 52 in December, up 0.2 points from a month ago. In breakdown, the new order index for the service sector increased slightly slower month on month to 50.9, and that for the construction sector rose at a faster pace to 58.1.

"Early indicators for December show China's economy pushing into 2018 with growth steady, if unspectacular," said Tom Orlik in a research note, as "the official purchasing managers' indexes show the manufacturing sector slowing slightly and the non-manufacturing sector picking up, driven mainly by construction."

"Growth remains remarkably robust, underpinned by resurgent global demand, stimulus-boosted infrastructure spending, and a deleveraging program that remains more honored in the breach than the observance." Orlik said.

Sub-indices for production and new orders came in at 54 and 53.4, respectively, down from 54.3 and 53.6 last month, while new export orders and import accelerated, with indices gained 1.1 points and 0.2 points to 51.9 and 51.2, respectively, according to NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

"In the details, output and new orders sub-indexes were both down slightly but still robustly in expansionary territory. New export orders picked up," Orlik said.

Bloomberg Economics expects a moderate slowdown of China's factory activity in 2018 as tailwinds from exports and infrastructure blow less strongly, and headwinds from deleveraging increase. Enditem