BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s factory activity expanded at a slightly slower pace in June, as high raw material costs and port disruptions in the export province of Guangdong affected business activity.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Manager’s Index (PMI) eased to 50.9 in June from 51 in May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Wednesday, remaining above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction.
Analysts had expected it to slip to 50.8.
The world’s second-largest economy has largely recovered from disruptions caused by the pandemic, but Chinese manufacturers are grappling with new challenges from higher raw material costs to global supply chain bottlenecks.
An outbreak of COVID-19 infections in China’s major export province of Guangdong has also disrupted shipments.
(Reporting by Colin Qian, Stella Qiu and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jacqueline Wong)
