China’s factory activity contracts for 3rd straight month in Feb: official PMI

SHANGHAI, Feb 28 (SMM) – Factory activity in China contracted for a third straight month in February, while the services sector maintained its growth. This brought the overall economic activity across the nation into expansion territory for the month.

China’s official purchasing manager's index (PMI) fell to 49.2 in February, the third straight below-50 reading, data showed on Thursday. This is the weakest level since February 2016 and below the expectations of a reading of 49.4.

The 50-point index mark separates expansion from contraction on a monthly basis.

The PMI for non-manufacturing came in at 54.3 this month, shy of the expected reading of 54.5 and down from 54.7 a month ago.

The composite PMI stood at 52.4 in February, down from 53.2 in January.