Global trade cools China's factories amid CNY pause

Beijing

WHILE many of China's factory workers were off the job enjoying this month's Lunar New Year, signs emerged that demand from their global customers may be beginning to cool.

The manufacturing purchasing managers index fell to 50.3 in February from 51.3 the prior month, the biggest slump in five years and below the 51.1 estimate in Bloomberg's survey. New export orders declined for second month, while the services PMI slipped to 54.4 from 55.3, the statistics bureau said on Wednesday. Levels over 50 indicate improvement.