China's factory activity swung to contraction in July, a private sector survey showed on Tuesday, with supply, demand and export orders all deteriorating as firms blamed sluggish market conditions at home and abroad.
The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index, or PMI, fell to 49.2 in July from 50.5 in June, missing analysts' forecasts of 50.3 and marking the first decline in activity since April.
The Caixin survey showed manufacturing output shrank for the first time in six months while new orders saw the quickest reduction since December.
New orders remained unchanged at makers of investment goods, but fell at producers of consumer and intermediate goods.
Employment across the manufacturing sector fell for the fifth straight month in July, although the pace of job shedding eased from June.
Organizations:
P Global, PMI
Locations:
Shanghai, Lujiazui, China