In a bid to spur growth and reduce borrowing costs, the central bank already has delivered three interest rate cuts since November, lowering the benchmark lending rate by 90 basis points, and cut bank reserve ratio by 150 bps this year.
Activity in China's giant factory sector expanded slightly in May, as expected, an official survey showed on Monday, offering investors some relief but not enough to arrest worries about a persistent economic slowdown.
The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged up to 50.2 from April's 50.1, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website, in line with analysts' forecast for a 50.2 reading.
A reading above 50 points indicates growth on a monthly basis, while one below that points to contraction.
Weighed down by a property downturn, factory overcapacity and high levels of local debt, China's economic growth is expected to slow to a quarter-century low of around 7% this year from 7.4% in 2014.
In a bid to spur growth and reduce borrowing costs, the central bank already has delivered three interest rate cuts since November, lowering the benchmark lending rate by 90 basis points, and cut bank reserve ratio by 150 bps this year.
Services PMI
Growth in China's services industry cooled in May, an official survey showed on Monday, suggesting the country's worst economic downturn in at least six years may be deepening.
The non-manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) edged down to 53.2, from April's 53.4, the National Bureau of Statistics said on its website.
A reading above 50 points indicates growth on a monthly basis, while one below that points to contraction.
Growth in China's services companies has been more resilient than at its ailing factories, but the sector has succumbed to the broader economic cooldown in recent months.
Many analysts expect growth in China's economy to cool to 7% this year compared to 2014, the weakest rate of expansion that the country has seen in a quarter of a century.
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