Asia's emerging economies lag behind in recovering from pandemic pain

Private surveys indicate Indonesia, Vietnam and Malaysia also witnessed factory activity shrink in July due to resurgence in infections and stricter COVID-19 restrictions.

The official manufacturing purchasing manager’s index (PMI) in China eased to 50.4 in July from 50.9 in June, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

But it remained above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction. It was the lowest figure since the index fell to 35.7 in February last year after China started imposing lockdowns to control the COVID-19 pandemic.

High raw material prices have eaten into the profitability of industrial firms and deterred some Chinese exporters from taking on orders.

South Korea's PMI stood at 53 last month, holding above the 50 mark, indicating an expansion in activity for the 10th straight month. But a sub-index on input prices rose at the second highest on record in a sign of the strain firms are feeling from rising raw material costs.

Underscoring the pandemic's strain on emerging Asia, Indonesia's PMI plunged to 40.1 last month from 53.5 in June.

China’s economy, however, has largely recovered from disruptions caused by the pandemic, with the consumption and service sectors gradually catching up to the improvements in exports and manufacturing. The country is also racing to contain a fresh COVID-19 outbreak of the more infectious Delta variant in the eastern city of Nanjing.

ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)