(Yicai) Nov. 2 -- Activity in China’s manufacturing sector returned to contraction in October after a one-month expansion because some demand was front-loaded ahead of the National Day holiday and the international environment remained complex and volatile.

The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index came in at 49.3 last month, down from 50.1 the month before, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Oct. 31. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

The new orders sub-index fell to 49.4 from 50.5, and the new export orders sub-index dropped to 48.7 from 50 in the period, NBS data also showed. However, the new orders index for the equipment manufacturing industry rose to 51 from 50.

The growth in export orders tied to Christmas eased after an earlier surge, while domestic demand cooled after the National Day holiday consumption peak, and the raw materials sector entered the off-peak season, said Wen Tao, an analyst at the China Logistics Information Center, adding that all these factors weighed on manufacturing orders.

The purchasing price sub-index eased to 56.8 from 60.8 in October from the previous month, while the factory-gate price sub-index eased to 51.7 from 54, reflecting declines in the prices of some nonferrous metals and other commodities.

China’s manufacturing sector will likely remain stable in November, but as temperatures fall, activity in some industries will cool, leaving limited room for an overall rebound, Wen predicted.

The non-manufacturing PMI, which includes construction and services, declined to 49.7 last month from 50.2 in September, according to NBS data. The construction PMI fell to 48 from 50.3, and the services PMI remained unchanged at 50.

A pullback in the construction sector sentiment dragged down the overall non-manufacturing PMI performance, though demand tied to the holiday helped keep the services sector relatively stable, said Wu Wei, another analyst at the CLIC. Fiscal disbursement and infrastructure project construction need to accelerate to better link the arrival of funds, project groundbreaking, and the creation of actual physical workload, he added.

The composite PMI output index, which combines the manufacturing PMI’s production sub-index and the non-manufacturing PMI, dropped to 49.7 in October from a nine-month high of 50.7 in September.

Editor: Futura Costaglione