Factory activity contracts amid gloomy outlook

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose slightly to 49.7 in August, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, in contraction for a fifth month but still an improvement over the 49.3 reading in July. — Bloomberg

BEIJING: China’s manufacturing activity contracted again in August, adding to the gloomy outlook for the world’s second-largest economy.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index rose slightly to 49.7 last month, according to the National Bureau of Statistics, in contraction for a fifth month but still an improvement over the 49.3 reading in July. That was better than the median estimate of 49.2 in a Bloomberg survey of economists.