Real estate companies have begun to buy back their own shares to aid their stocks. Businesses have begun to raise prices. Cars and exports cost more. China is certainly starting to feel the pinch that the U.S. trade policy has brought upon the country. The Chinese government reacted by enacting policies supporting the economy, but so far, it doesn't look like the real property market is not covered.
CNBC reports that the country's Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) last month didn't look good, although it's not so bad. It fell by 51.2 percent, just .1 percent shy of analyst expectations. This was due to what was a weak factory activity that was observed in that month, also slightly lower than what analysts had expected, despite the trade dispute.
As for what that rating means, it shows that China's expansion is slowly coming to a halt. Readings of 50 and above mean everything is well for expansion, while 50 and below certainly can't be good for that. China's economy is still expanding, but if the trade tariffs continue, it will eventually start to slow down.
The trade dispute wasn't the only culprit here. Weather affecting key regions and other seasonal factors were observed to be contributors to the slowing down of the economy. Statistician Zhao Qinghe pointed out these factors as key points in the gradual weakening of China's global push.
Reuters points out that this was the first time the "world's factory" was observed for an economical reading. China appears to have been affected more than it can afford to be by the US trade tension. Even ANZ Senior China Economist Betty Wang agreed to that, adding that it is during this month that China experiences severe weather, a contributor to the slowdown.
China's exports began to slowly grind down to a halt during June when the trade tariffs started to hit. Most exporters were rushing to get their products over before July 6, when the tariffs started to affect the economy. The result of this? The 51.2 percent ratings. It was previously at 53.6 in June, just slightly better.
As China countered US tariffs with some of their own, it's pretty obvious that no one will win this costly war. All businesses, small or large or otherwise, will feel the crunch if the nations don't come to an agreement soon enough.
