China factory PMI falls to 8-month low of 51.3 after debt clean-up

Beijing

CHINA'S official factory gauge missed estimates, falling to an eight-month low in January as a financial clean-up moderated output at home and a stronger yuan trimmed export demand.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index slipped to 51.3, compared to a 51.6 forecast in Bloomberg's economist survey and 51.6 the prior month. The non-manufacturing PMI rose to the highest since September at 55.3, from 55 in December. Numbers above 50 indicate improving conditions. A new composite index covering both services and manufacturing was released for the first time; it stood at 54.6, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.