China factory PMI improves slightly but still stuck in contraction

Policy support seen buoying August figure; markets unlikely to take 'much comfort'

An employee works on a steel processing production line at a factory in Hefei, Anhui province, China, in 2020. (China Daily via Reuters)

CK TAN, Nikkei staff writer

August 31, 2023 10:38 JST

Updated on August 31, 2023 12:52 JST

SHANGHAI -- China's factory activity gauge improved marginally in August, but was still below the 50-point mark that separates a contraction from an expansion amid a global economic slowdown and sluggish domestic demand.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) registered 49.7 this month, up from 49.3 in July, the National Bureau of Statistics reported on Thursday.