China December factory growth eases as tough pollution measures bite

Beijing

GROWTH in China's manufacturing sector slowed slightly in December as a punishing crackdown on air pollution and a cooling property market start to weigh on the world's second-largest economy.

The data support the view that the economy is beginning to gradually lose steam after growing by a forecast-beating 6.9 per cent in the first nine months of the year, but the findings did not appear to suggest a risk of sharper slowdown at this point.