July PMI expands at slowest pace in 17 months

China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) fell to 51.2 from 52.1 in July, expanding at the slowest pace in 17 months amid government restrictions on property speculation and investment in polluting factories, Bloomberg reported. A PMI reading above 50 reflects an expansion. “The Chinese economy is slowing down mainly due to the ongoing property tightening measures," said Lu Ting, a Hong Kong-based economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch. Other analysts believe the slowdown is concentrated in heavy industry, partly reflecting a government campaign to shut down inefficient businesses to meet national energy-saving goals. The PMI is released by the logistics federation and the Beijing-based National Bureau of Statistics, and covers more than 730 companies in 20 industries, including energy, metallurgy, textiles, automobiles and electronics.