China factory activity shrinks in September for sixth straight month

BEIJING, Sept 30 (AFP): China's factory activity shrank for a sixth straight month in September, official data showed Tuesday, as a domestic consumer slump and lingering trade uncertainty weigh on the economy.
The manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 49.8, narrowly below the value of 50 separating contraction from expansion, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
Still, the reading beat the forecast of 49.6 in a Bloomberg survey of economists and was the highest since March.
But it extended a streak of contraction that began in April, as factories across the manufacturing powerhouse contend with turbulence from the ongoing US-China trade war.
"Overall economic output expansion in the country accelerated slightly" during the month, said NBS statistician Huo Lihui in a statement.
The figures come just before the start of the country's "Golden Week" National Day holiday, a period that usually sees slower factory activity.
Official data also showed Tuesday that the non-manufacturing PMI, which measures activity in sectors including services and construction, fell to 50.0 in September from 50.3 in August.