China's Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector retreated to 49.1% in February, down from 49.2 a month earlier, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
The manufacturing sector turned into a seasonal lull as workers took prolonged time off for the Chinese New Year holiday, leading to weakness in production and sales, said Zhao Qinghe, senior statistician of the NBS.
In breakdown, the sub-index for production fell 1.5 percentage points from a month ago to 49.8 in February, suggesting a slowdown in producing activity, while that for new orders was unchanged at 49.0, but still in a contraction zone.
At the same time, raw material inventories continued falling in February, with the sub-index down to 47.4, and those for employment and supplier delivery time fell to 47.5 and 48.8, respectively.
Large enterprises sustained their expansion with a PMI of 50.4%, holding steady from the previous month. Medium-sized enterprises saw a slight increase to 49.1%, up by 0.2 percentage points, while small enterprises, more affected by the holiday break, recorded a PMI of 46.4%, a decrease of 0.8 percentage points.
The high-tech manufacturing sector continued its expansion with a PMI of 50.8% despite 0.3 percentage points fall from the previous month. Conversely, equipment manufacturing and consumer goods industries saw a slight decline in PMI to 49.5% and 50%, respectively.
The non-manufacturing PMI rose to 51.4%, marking a 0.7 percentage point increase from January, suggesting a faster expansion in activities related to the holiday, such as retail, rail transport, catering, and tourism.
The comprehensive PMI output index remained steady at 50.9%, indicating a continuation of overall economic expansion.
(Writing by Alex Guo Editing by Harry Huo)
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