Latest news with #factoryactivity
Free Malaysia Today
01-08-2025
- Business
- Free Malaysia Today
Asia's factory activity worsens as US trade uncertainty bites
Factory activity in July expanded in the Philippines and Vietnam, but shrank in Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia. (EPA Images pic) TOKYO : Asia's factory activity deteriorated in July as soft global demand and lingering uncertainty over US tariffs weighed on business morale, private sector surveys showed today, clouding the outlook for the region's fragile recovery. The surveys were taken before Japan and South Korea clinched trade deals with Washington, offering some hope that receding uncertainty could prop up manufacturing activity in coming months, some analysts say. Factory activity shrank in export powerhouses Japan and South Korea, surveys for July showed, underscoring the challenge Asia faces as President Donald Trump's policies threaten the global free trade system the region relied upon for growth. China's factory activity also deteriorated in July as softening business growth led manufacturers to scale back production, boding ill for the region's economy. The S&P Global China general manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 49.5 in July from 50.4 in June, undershooting analysts' expectations of 50.4 in a Reuters poll and dropping below the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction. The reading comes a day after an official survey showed China's manufacturing activity shrank for a fourth straight month in July, suggesting a surge in exports ahead of higher US tariffs has started to fade while domestic demand remained sluggish. The survey 'provides further evidence that China's economy lost some momentum last month, largely due to domestic weakness,' said Zichun Huang, an economist at Capital Economics. The S&P Global Japan manufacturing PMI also fell to 48.9 in July from 50.1 in June, a sign US tariffs were hurting the world's fourth-largest economy. Most of the survey data was collected before the announcement of a Japan-US trade agreement last month, which lowers tariffs imposed on Japan to 15% from a previously threatened 25%. As the trade deal with Washington kicks in, 'it will be important to see if this will translate into greater client confidence and improved sales in the months ahead,' said Annabel Fiddes, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiles the survey. South Korea also saw factory activity contract in July for the sixth straight month with the S&P Global PMI falling to 48.0 in July, from 48.7 in June. 'Both production volumes and new orders fell at a steeper rate than that in June, with anecdotal evidence indicating that weakness in the domestic economy was compounded by the impacts of US tariff policy,' said Usamah Bhatti, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. The survey was conducted from July 10 to July 23, before South Korea reached on Wednesday a trade deal with the US lowering tariffs to 15% from a threatened 25%. Factory activity in July expanded in the Philippines and Vietnam, but shrank in Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia, PMIs showed.
Reuters
01-08-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Asia's factory activity worsens as US trade uncertainty bites
TOKYO, Aug 1 (Reuters) - Asia's factory activity deteriorated in July as soft global demand and lingering uncertainty over U.S. tariffs weighed on business morale, private sector surveys showed on Friday, clouding the outlook for the region's fragile recovery. The surveys were taken before Japan and South Korea clinched trade deals with Washington, offering some hope that receding uncertainty could prop up manufacturing activity in coming months, some analysts say. Factory activity shrank in export power-houses Japan and South Korea, surveys for July showed, underscoring the challenge Asia faces as President Donald Trump's policies threaten the global free trade system the region relied upon for growth. China's factory activity also deteriorated in July as softening business growth led manufacturers to scale back production, boding ill for the region's economy. The S&P Global China General Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in July from 50.4 in June, undershooting analysts' expectations of 50.4 in a Reuters poll and dropping below the 50 threshold that separates growth from contraction. The reading comes a day after an official survey showed China's manufacturing activity shrank for a fourth straight month in July, suggesting a surge in exports ahead of higher U.S. tariffs has started to fade while domestic demand remained sluggish. The survey "provides further evidence that China's economy lost some momentum last month, largely due to domestic weakness," said Zichun Huang, an economist at Capital Economics. The S&P Global Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) also fell to 48.9 in July from 50.1 in June, a sign U.S. tariffs were hurting the world's fourth-largest economy. Most of the survey data was collected before the announcement of a Japan-U.S. trade agreement last month, which lowers tariffs imposed on Japan to 15% from a previously threatened 25%. As the trade deal with Washington kicks in, "it will be important to see if this will translate into greater client confidence and improved sales in the months ahead," said Annabel Fiddes, economics associate director at S&P Global Market Intelligence, which compiles the survey. South Korea also saw factory activity contract in July for the sixth straight month with the S&P Global PMI falling to 48.0 in July, from 48.7 in June. "Both production volumes and new orders fell at a steeper rate than that in June, with anecdotal evidence indicating that weakness in the domestic economy was compounded by the impacts of U.S. tariff policy," said Usamah Bhatti, economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. The survey was conducted from July 10 to July 23, before South Korea reached on Wednesday a trade deal with the U.S. lowering tariffs to 15% from a threatened 25%. Factory activity in July expanded in the Philippines and Vietnam, but shrank in Taiwan, Indonesia and Malaysia, PMIs showed.
Yahoo
01-08-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
China's manufacturing activity shrinks as exports drag, S&P PMI shows
BEIJING (Reuters) -China's factory activity deteriorated in July, as a softening of new business growth led manufacturers to scale back production, a private-sector survey showed on Friday. The S&P Global China General Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in July from 50.4 in June, undershooting analysts' expectations of 50.4 in a Reuters poll. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction. The reading, combined with Thursday's official survey, bodes ill for growth momentum at the start of the third quarter, following robust growth in the first half of the year. Amid a trade truce with Washington, economists say the support of exports front-loading ahead of higher U.S. tariffs to the world's second-biggest economy may fade over the remainder of the year. According to the S&P Global survey, new export orders contracted for a fourth straight month and at a faster pace than in June. After rising in June, manufacturing output declined in July. Firms looked to utilise their current stock holdings for the fulfilment of orders, which contributed to a second successive monthly decline in post-production inventories. Falling production together with a stable backlog prompted factory owners to lower their headcount in July. Firms also said cost concerns had underpinned decisions to shed staff. However, business sentiment improved at the start of the second half of 2025 but was still below the series average. Manufacturers expected better economic conditions and promotional efforts to spur sales in the year ahead. As Beijing started to tackle "price wars" among manufacturers, average input prices increased for the first time in five months. Firms nevertheless lowered their selling prices again as competition for new business intensified. But export charges increased at the fastest pace in a year due to rising shipping and logistics costs. Top leaders on Wednesday pledged to support an economy that is facing various risks, by managing what is viewed as disorderly competition in the second half of the year. Markets expected that Beijing may be about to start a new round of factory capacity cuts in a long-awaited but challenging campaign against deflation. From July, Caixin no longer sponsors the S&P Global China PMI. Sign in to access your portfolio
Bloomberg
31-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
High-profile China Stimulus Unlikely This Year: ANZ
High-profile stimulus from Beijing is unlikely this year with authorities instead expected to focus on refining existing support measures, ANZ's Raymond Yeung tells Bloomberg TV. Yeung speaks after China announces its factory activity had unexpectedly deteriorated in July to a six-month low despite a tariff truce with the US. (Source: Bloomberg)
Bloomberg
31-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
China Factory Activity Worsens as Exports Show Signs of Slowing
China's factory activity unexpectedly deteriorated in July despite a tariff truce with the US, as early signs emerge exports are slowing and weak domestic demand persists. The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index was 49.3, versus 49.7 in June, the National Bureau of Statistics said Thursday. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 49.7. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.
