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China's manufacturing activity continued to retreat in August, with an accelerated decline in output and new orders, according to a survey by financial information service provider Markit and sponsored by Caixin Media Co. Ltd.
The Caixin General China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) was 47.3 in August, slightly higher than an earlier flash reading of 47.1 but still down from 47.8 in July, according to data released Tuesday.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 represents contraction.
August was the sixth-consecutive month that the index recorded a reading below 50, with factories seeing the quickest deterioration in operating conditions and purchasing activity since March 2009, according to the survey.
Total new orders and new export orders both dropped faster than in July due to weak demand, which led to the sharpest output contraction in 45 months.
Recent volatilities on global financial markets may weigh down on the real economy, and as macroeconomic fine-tuning continues, structural reforms should be sped up to release the full potential of growth, said He Fan, chief economist at Caixin Insight Group.
The survey also showed the Caixin China General Services Business Activity Index slipped to 51.5 in August from 53.8 in July, signalling the slowest increase in activity in the past 13 months as new order growth of the sector weakened.
He attributed the fall to weaker financial business caused by stock market turmoil in August.
China's official PMI came in at 49.7 in August, down from 50 for July and the lowest since August 2012, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.
