China’s manufacturing may contract for its fifth month straight

China’s manufacturing may contract for its fifth month straight

China’s factory activity is expected to have contracted for a fifth straight month in September, further adding to the country’s economic woes as the U.S.-China trade wars escalate.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for September is expected to remain flat at 49.5 from August according to the median forecast of several economists.

The current economic weakness is primarily driven by manufacturing sector, according to a third-quarter of thousands of Chinese firms published by the China Beige Book International (CBB) this week.

The continued slowdown in manufacturing activity has fuelled the expectations that the authorities would have to roll out more stimulus measure to avert a sharper descent.