The continuous drop in the PMI indicates a growth moderation in the manufacturing sector in China. 11 of the 13 sub-indices were lower than their respective levels in the previous month.

The output and the new orders indices fell by 0.5 pts and 0.8 pts respectively in January, showing that output growth moderated amid a deceleration in the growth of overall new orders in the month. 1 Besides, for the first time in 15 months, the new export orders index fell below the critical 50-mark in January, showing a contraction in new export orders. Also noteworthy is that the input prices index went down by 2.5 pts from the previous month to 59.7 in January, showing that the prices of production inputs have increased at a slower pace recently.