An index monitoring manufacturing activity in China showed contraction in January, the latest PMI from HSBC and Markit Economics revealed on Thursday, coming in with a score of 49.5.
That was even worse than the flash estimate from earlier this month that indicated a score of 49.6, and it was down sharply from 50.5 in December.
A score above 50 signals expansion in a sector, while a score below 50 means contraction.
The contraction in the sector was the first in six months, due primarily to weakness in output and new business.
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