China considering new stimulus - report

"The fact that the PMI has bottomed is encouraging but should not be taken as evidence of recovery," CLSA economist Eric Fishwick in a statement. "Without an early move in the PMI back above 50 a further fall in China's headline growth indicators looks inevitable for the current quarter."

Economic growth fell in the fourth quarter to 6.8 percent compared with a year earlier, down from 9 percent the previous quarter.

The economy got a boost from spending on shopping and travel during last week's Lunar New Year festivities, the country's biggest family holiday and a period when retailers, airlines and others make a big share of annual sales.

Retail spending during the weeklong holiday rose 13.8 percent over the same period last year， against a 17.4 percent growth in December year-on-year. Holiday sales in 2008 were dampened by severe winter storms, setting a low base for this year's growth.

Consumer spending should weaken further in coming months, said Xu Xiaofang, an analyst for Guotai Jun'an Securites in Beijing.

"No matter what, people spend a lot on the Lunar New Year. They would rather be frugal after the festival instead," Xu said.

The plunge in global consumer demand has battered Chinese exporters, causing a wave of factory closures and layoffs.

An estimated 20 million people, or 15 percent of China's 130 million migrant workers, have lost their jobs, said Chen Xiwen, director of the Central Rural Work Leading Group, at a news conference on Monday.

Wen, the premier, said Beijing will try to keep growth at about 8 percent this year, the Financial Times reported.

Economists say Beijing's strong finances and low debt give it leeway to spend still more to reverse the economic slump.

Spending on the stimulus and relief work for last year's devastating earthquake in China's southwest caused the national budget to slip into deficit, the Finance Ministry said Monday.

The 2008 deficit was 111 billion yuan ($16.2 billion) as spending soared to 22.6 percent above the budgeted level, the ministry said. That gap was modest compared with deficits in the United States and other major economies.

Wen was on a European tour that included stops in Germany, Spain and at European Union headquarters in Brussels.

Editor:Liu Anqi