China’s industrial activity contracted for the fifth month in a row

China’s industrial activity continued to contract for a fifth straight month in February, despite Beijing mobilizing significant resources to stimulate construction, foreign investment and consumption.

According to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics today, China’s manufacturing PMI recorded 49.1 in February, compared to 49.2 in January.

The new orders sub-index stabilized at 49, while the export orders index slowed to 46.3 compared to 47.2 in January.

The non-manufacturing PMI (which measures business confidence in the services and construction sectors) jumped to 51.4 from 50.7.

As for China’s composite purchasing managers’ index (industrial and services), it stabilized at 50.9 in February.