Manufacturing sector gauges show continued contraction in February

China’s official manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 49 in February, marking the seventh month below the 50-point line that delineates contraction from expansion for the country’s struggling manufacturing sector, The Financial Times reported, citing new figures from the National  Bureau of Statistics. The gauge of manufacturing activity fell from 49.4 in January, while the official services PMI came in at 52.7 for February, down from 53.5 the month before. The independent Caixin manufacturing PMI fell 0.4 percentage points month on month to 48, marking 12 straight months of contraction, with staff numbers falling at their sharpest rate since January 2009.