Growth in China's manufacturing sector has slowed to a 9-month low

Activity in the Chinese manufacturing sector continued to grow in February, but the pace of growth slowed to its weakest level in nine months. This was pointed out by data released by the Chinese statistical office on Sunday. The Purchasing Managers' Index for the Chinese manufacturing sector reached 50.6 points in February, up from 51.3 points in the previous month. This still represents an increase in activity in the sector, as growth is separated from the decline by the 50-point threshold. However, the growth rate slowed to the weakest level since May last year. Developments in February were also worse than expected by economists. They expected a slowdown in growth, but a more moderate one, assuming a decline in the index to 51.1 points. Data for the manufacturing sector by the statistical office, which focuses on large and state-owned enterprises, were mainly affected by the decline in new export orders. They still recorded a slight increase in January. The relevant sub-index fell to 48.8 points in February, while it reached 50.2 points in January. The employment sub-index also fell. It reached 48.1 points compared to 48.4 points in January, which means that redundancies in companies have accelerated.