BEIJING, Aug 1 (Reuters) – China’s official factory
purchasing managers’ index inched down to 50.1 in
July, below expectations and down from 50.2 in June, the
National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.
It marked the lowest reading since November, in the latest
sign that growth in the world’s second-biggest economy is
weighed down by cooling exports, factory output and fixed asset
investment.
Economists polled by Reuters this week had expected July’s
official PMI to edge up to 50.3, above the 50 point level that
demarcates expansion from contraction.
A flash PMI published last week by HSBC rose to a five-month
high of 49.5 in July, boosted by a pick up in output and signs
of improvement in new export orders. But the employment index
fell to a 40-month low.
