China’s factory activity shrinks for fourth month

Factory activity in China shrank in August for the fourth month in a row as domestic demand remained sluggish, pointing to a further slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy, said Reuters.

The Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 49.5 in August, China’s National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday, versus 49.7 in July, below the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

A Reuters poll showed analysts expected the August PMI to stay unchanged from the previous month.