China's manufacturing activity contracted unexpectedly in October and the growth in the non-manufacturing sector softened, survey data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Tuesday.
The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index declined unexpectedly to 49.5 in October. The score was forecast to remain unchanged at 50.2. A score below 50.0 indicates contraction in the sector.
At the same time, the non-manufacturing PMI slid to 50.6 in October from 51.7 a month ago. The expected level was 51.8.
As a result, the composite PMI, which covers both manufacturing and services, posted 50.7, down from 52.0 in September.
ING economist Robert Carnell said official survey data suggested that the momentum of China's economic growth ebbed at the beginning of the fourth quarter. Nonetheless, economic growth is still ongoing.
And if this initial set of data is representative of what will follow for the rest of the quarter, it should still be enough achieve its 5 percent growth target this year, the economist noted.
