Growth in China's factory sector eases as export orders decline

Growth in the mainland's factories slowed slightly last month as export orders and output weakened, official data showed yesterday.

That confirms the views of many observers that while the world's second-largest economy remains resilient, it lost some steam late last year.

The official purchasing managers' index, published by the National Bureau of Statistics, dipped to 51.

Economists polled had expected the index to ease to 51.2 from November's 51.4. The 50-point mark separates an expansion in activity from a contraction.

Many economists have said the mainland economy was likely to show weaker momentum in the final quarter after a rebound between July and September, because of slowing credit growth and a fall-off in restocking demand.

"Both domestic and overseas demand was weaker than expected. Domestically, tight liquidity is weighing on factory output and orders," said Li Heng, an economist at Minsheng Securities in Beijing.

"The economy is under some downward pressure, but the slowdown remains modest. We still need to observe the trend [in the coming] year. We think [fourth-quarter] growth should be 7.7 per cent and the same for [the first quarter of] 2014."