On November 3, S&P Global together with RatingDog released the latest data showing that in October, China’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) recorded 50.6, lower than the market expectation of 50.9 and a decrease from the previous month’s 51.2.
The decline in the manufacturing PMI index is partly due to a weaker growth in manufacturing output. New export orders saw the most significant drop since May, with surveyed companies indicating increased trade uncertainties. Manufacturers are concerned about growth prospects, with business optimism at its lowest in six months.
In terms of prices, the differentiation pattern of “rising raw material prices and falling finished product prices” continues to put pressure on profit margins for companies. The average selling price in manufacturing dropped for the second consecutive month and recorded the most significant decrease since July, reflecting poor external demand, leading manufacturers to cut export prices for the first time since April.
Regarding inventory, both raw material inventory and finished product inventory continued to expand, although the rate of expansion for both has narrowed.
RatingDog founder Yao Yu said, “Looking at the detailed indicators, the expansion at both ends of production and demand slowed in October. On the demand side, increased trade uncertainties led to a significant decline in new export orders, pushing them into contraction territory. The weakening exports dragged down the new orders index, and concerns about sluggish exports persist. On the production side, external uncertainties also restrained production to some extent, with production-related sub-indexes declining month-on-month but still maintaining expansion, albeit at a slower pace.”
Since July of this year, Caixin formally terminated its naming rights for the S&P China PMI. RatingDog (Shenzhen) Information Technology Co., Ltd. reached an agreement with S&P Global to obtain the exclusive naming rights to the “S&P Global China PMI” (formerly Caixin PMI).
As of August 2025, the index has been renamed “RatingDog China PMI.” The renamed index will continue to be released on the first working day of each month (for manufacturing PMI) and on the third working day of each month (for services PMI).
This index reflects the activity of small and medium-sized enterprises and export-oriented enterprises.
Last Friday (October 31st), data released by the National Bureau of Statistics of China showed that the country’s manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for October was 49.0%, a decrease of 0.8 percentage points from the previous month, marking seven consecutive months below the 50% threshold, signaling contraction.
By enterprise size, the PMI for large, medium, and small businesses was 49.9%, 48.7%, and 47.1%, respectively, each dropping by 1.1, 0.1, and 1.1 percentage points from the previous month, all below the threshold line.