Although China was the first market to recover after the global recession, the economy has reversed dramatically with the Shanghai composite index falling to a 15-month low. Since its peak last August, shares in China’s main stock exchange have fallen 32 percent.
Another alarming sign of a slowdown, is the fall in demand for consumer goods. Last week, the Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI), fell to 52.1 in June from 53.9 in May. Anything above 50 shows expansion in manufacturing output.
“The Chinese stock exchange has had a pretty horrific year so far,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, China economist at Credit Agricole in Hong Kong. “The economy is still growing, but it is slowing very sharply.”
Source: BBC News
