Manufacturing growth continues to slow

China’s manufacturing growth continued to slow in October, with the government’s purchasing managers’ index (PMI) dropping from 51.1 to 50.8, Bloomberg reported. The economy as a whole expanded only 7.3% in the third quarter, the weakest pace in five years, leading to estimates of the slowest full-year growth since 1990. Growth slowed from September for output, new orders, new export orders, stockpiles and expectations. This comes as some of the biggest drivers of growth, such as fixed-asset investment, are slowing, and heavy industries such as steel and coal are seeing lower prices.