China's manufacturing growth slows in December

Washington (Reporter Lishiang Wangjin rain) HSBC's China manufacturing Purchasing managers Index (PMI) was 54.4 in December, down from 55.3 in November and 54.8 in October, the lowest in 3 months, according to a report released yesterday.　　Throughout the year, the overall growth of manufacturing in the quarter was second only to the first quarter. Qu Hongbin, HSBC's China chief economist, said that despite the December slowdown, future policies would remain focused on tackling inflation, and that the government would still rely heavily on quantitative austerity measures to curb inflation and weaken the impact of the second round of quantitative easing in the US,　　It is also necessary to stabilize inflation expectations by slightly raising interest rates in the next few months.　　Although the growth rate was the lowest in 3 months, output growth in China's manufacturing sector remained significant in December, with overall growth largely rooted in the domestic market, with new export operations growing far below the overall growth rate of new orders. In addition, the average input price has risen for five consecutive months as of December. Although the seasonally adjusted input price index fell to 3-month lows of 72.3, it still showed significant increases in input costs. The strength of raw materials such as basic metals and the rising price of energy and fuel at the end of the year make the manufacturing industry face greater cost pressures.