HONG KONG (AP) — An official survey shows Chinese manufacturing barely expanded in September, indicating a recovery in the world's No. 2 economy may be losing steam.
Tuesday's report by the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing showed manufacturing expanded for the third month in a row. But the group's purchasing managers' index rose by only a fraction to 51.1 last month from 51.0 in August, less than economists expected.
The federation's report comes a day after a private survey by HSBC also indicated weaker than expected growth in China's massive manufacturing sector.
HSBC's PMI ticked up to 50.2 from 50.1 the month before, much lower than a preliminary version.
Both indexes use a 100-point scale on which numbers below 50 indicate contraction.
Source: Official survey: China manufacturing barely grows (http://news.yahoo.com/official-survey-china-manufacturing-barely-grows-024425231--finance.html)