China’s manufacturing sector has slipped into contraction, with the official PMI recording its worst result in three years.
The Australian Financial Review and others report that a PMI result of 49.7 was recorded for August, down from 50 the month before.
A result under 50 indicates contraction.
The result in the Markit/Caixin poll of private sector factories was even weaker, notes Reuters. It came in at 47.3, its worst result in nearly six-and-a-half years.
These figures come after the country devalued its currency on August 11.
Julian Evans-Prichard from Capital Economics said the lowered official PMI was no cause for concern, with the country transitioning to a more service-based economy. The services PMI was 53.4 in August (down from 53.9).
“As such, signs of weakness in manufacturing are less of a concern than they used to be," Evans-Prichard said.
The Australian dollar dropped soon after the results were released, and was trading at $US 70.17 cents before 7 am AEST.
More broadly, the world’s manufacturing sector is in a period of weaker growth.
Business Insider reports on the JPMorgan Global Manufacturing PMI, covering just under nine tenths of global manufacturing output. It surveys over 10,000 purchasing managers in over 30 countries.
Despite being in its 33rd straight month of growth, the Global PMI result was 50.7, its slowest output since April 2013.