This undated photo captures a worker checking the operation of a carbon fiber production line at a factory in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province. (GENG YUHE / FOR CHINA DAILY)

BEIJING – The purchasing managers' index for China's manufacturing sector came in at 49.6 in September, edging down from 50.1 in August, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Thursday.

A reading below 50 reflects contraction. The slowdown came as factory activities in energy-intensive sectors slackened, weighing on the overall performance of the manufacturing industry, according to the NBS.

The sub-index for production stood at 49.5 in September, retreating 1.4 percentage points from a month earlier, while that for new orders dropped 0.3 percentage points to 49.3

The sub-index for production stood at 49.5 in September, retreating 1.4 percentage points from a month earlier, while that for new orders dropped 0.3 percentage points to 49.3.

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The new export order and import sub-indexes edged down to 46.2 and 46.8, respectively.

Non-manufacturing PMI up in Sept

The purchasing managers' index for the non-manufacturing sector came in at 53.2 in September, up from 47.5 in August, the NBS said.
A reading above 50 indicates expansion. Business activities in the non-manufacturing sector have recovered swiftly, especially for the service sector, according to NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

In September, the sub-index for business activities in the services sector stood at 52.4, up 7.2 percentage points from that in August. Of all the 21 sectors surveyed, 16 sectors reported expansion, up from seven a month ago.

Sectors such as transportation, accommodation and catering, which were hit by the resurgence of COVID-19 cases last month, recorded marked improvement in September. Their sub-indexes for business activities were in the expansionary zone, according to the NBS.

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The sub-index tracking business activity expectations for the services sector stood at 58.9, 1.6 percentage points higher than last month, showing most service enterprises are optimistic about the market in the near term.

NBS data also showed that China's construction industry has maintained relatively fast expansion, with the sub-index for business activities standing at 57.5 last month.