Markit’s HSBC Flash China Manufacturing Index has dropped to 49.5, with a number under 50 representing a contraction. World economists have been worried for some time that the white-hot People’s Republic, measured as number two in the world by gross domestic product (GDP), would not be able to keep growing at 7% plus. Recently the government said that a 7.1% GDP increase was the likely figure for this year.
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Most of the world’s other largest economies are either in recession or tipping that way, particularly the European Union (where GDP leader Germany has struggled) and Japan.
Markit experts wrote:
- Flash China Manufacturing PMI at 49.5 in December (50.0 in November). Seven-month low.
- Flash China Manufacturing Output Index at 49.7 in December (49.6 in November). Two-month high.
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