The manufacturing sector in China continued to contract in August, albeit at a slower pace, the latest survey from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday with a manufacturing PMI score of 49.4.
That beat expectations for a reading of 49.2 and it's up from 49.0 in July - although it remains beneath the boom-or-bust line of 50 that separates expansion from contraction.
The bureau also said its non-manufacturing PMI slipped to 52.6 in August from 53.8 in July, while the composite index fell to 51.7 from 52.5.
