Beijing | China’s factory activity contracted for a third consecutive month in July, leaving the economy on a weak trajectory that is frustrating Beijing’s efforts to sustain faster growth.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index hit 49.4, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday. The number matched economist forecasts and was slightly worse than June’s reading of 49.5. The gauge has stayed below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction for all but three months since April 2023.

Bloomberg