Manufacturing sector shrinks, services growth slows in January

China’s Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) index fell to 49.8 in January, below the 50-point mark that divides contraction from growth for the country’s factory sector, Reuters reported, citing a statement from the National Bureau of Statistics. The contraction was the first since September 2012, and a separate official services PMI, also released Sunday, showed growth in that sector had cooled to a one-year low of 53.7. Services accounted for 48% of China’s US$10.2 trillion economy last year, and have weathered the country’s growth slowdown better than factories in part because they depend less on foreign demand.