HONG KONG (AP) – Chinese manufacturing deteriorated again last month, according to surveys released Friday, signaling further weakness in the world’s No. 2 economy as it undergoes a prolonged slowdown.
An official survey of factory purchasing managers ticked down to 50.0 in June from 50.1 the month before.
By coming in at the exact midpoint of the 100-point scale, the latest reading on the Chinese Federation of Logistics & Purchasing’s survey indicates that factory activity neither expanded nor contracted from the month before.
A separate private survey released the same day painted a more pessimistic picture of conditions in China’s manufacturing sector, which employs many millions of workers.
The Caixin/Markit index contracted further, slipping to 48.6 last month from 49.2 in May as production shrank at the quickest pace in four months.