China Factory Activity Improves But Slump Reaches Six Months (1)

China’s factory activity improved slightly but extended its decline into a sixth month — the longest slump since 2019 — with the economy at risk of a slowdown after a growth spurt to start the year.

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 49.8, versus 49.4 in August, the National Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. The median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was 49.6.

The non-manufacturing measure of activity in construction and services fell more than forecast to 50 from 50.3 last month, the statistics office said. A reading below 50 indicates contraction.

It’s the first evidence that weakness ...