Manufacturing in China continued to contract for the fifth consecutive month in February, as reported by an official survey of factory managers released on Friday. The official purchasing managers index (PMI) fell to 49.1 in February from 49.2 the previous month, indicating ongoing weakness in the economy. The PMI scale ranges up to 100, with 50 serving as the threshold between expansion and contraction. The manufacturing PMI has declined in ten of the last eleven months, with a sole increase noted in September.
Despite recent efforts by Beijing to bolster the economy, such as reducing lending rates and cutting banks' reserve requirements to stimulate lending, the manufacturing PMI remained subdued. A separate survey by financial news outlet Caixin showed a slight increase in manufacturing PMI from 50.8 to 50.9.
