China's manufacturing activity moderates in August

Growth in China's manufacturing sector slightly moderated in August, pointing to subdued momentum in the economic recovery, new data showed Monday.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) came in at 51.1 in August, down from July's 51.7, according to data released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 reflects contraction.

A majority of sub-indices retreated in August, with those measuring production, new orders and purchasing volumes registering the biggest drops.

"The PMI data indicates some downward pressure on the economy," noted Zhang Liqun, an economist at the Development Research Center of the State Council.

In breakdown, the production index fell one percentage point from a month earlier to 53.2 percent, while the index for new orders slowed 1.1 percentage points to 52.5 after racing to the highest since May 2012 a month earlier.

But as the indices still stayed above the 50-point watershed, Zhang maintained that the basic trend of a steadily growing economy remains unchanged.

After a shaky start this year, Chinese policymakers have pinned hopes on quickening fiscal spending and selectively easing monetary policies to support faltering growth.

The government has called for more efforts to optimize credit structure by guiding more credit flow into the agriculture sector and small businesses against the backdrop of prudent monetary policy.

Helped in part by these efforts, China's economic growth showed recovery signs in the second quarter, accelerating to 7.5 percent from the 7.4-percent expansion in the first quarter.