China factory output falls second straight month

BEIJING: Factory activity in China contracted for a second straight month in August, official data showed Monday, as weak demand weighed on the world's second-largest economy.

Beijing is seeking to maintain economic momentum despite challenges including trade frictions with Washington and a prolonged property-sector crisis that has dampened consumer confidence.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) stood at 49.8 in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, remaining below the 50 mark that separates expansion from contraction. The reading was, however, higher than the 49.5 forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists and improved from 49.2 in July.


NBS statistician Huo Lihui said the data showed an "expansion in both production and market demand in the manufacturing sector".

Some sectors continued to see "weak market activity", Huo said, including steel production and chemical materials.

The non-manufacturing PMI, which measures activity in sectors including services and construction, came in at 49.0, unchanged from July but below the Bloomberg forecast of 49.4.