Beijing | China’s factory activity unexpectedly slowed ahead of China’s Lunar New Year holiday and the services sector cooled – signs stronger fiscal stimulus is needed even after a recent stimulus push.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to 49.1, the lowest since August, missing economists’ forecast for a modest expansion. The non-manufacturing gauge for construction and services dropped to 50.2, just above the 50-mark that separates growth and contraction.
