China July Factory Growth Cools Slightly as Export Orders Ease<br />BEIJING — Growth in China’s manufacturing sector slowed marginally in July, reinforcing expectations the world’s second-largest economy will cool in coming months as borrowing costs rise<br />and regulators clamp down on riskier types of financing.<br />The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on Monday stood at 51.4 in July, down from the previous month’s 51.7 but still well above the 50-point mark<br />that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.<br />China posted stronger-than-expected economic growth of 6.9 percent in the first half,<br />fuelled by a year-long construction boom, resurgent exports and robust retail sales.<br />The sub-index for the construction sector rose to 62.5 in July from 61.4 in June, the PMI survey by the National Bureau of Statistics showed.
