China's manufacturing PMI falls to 49.3 in October

China's factory activity saw a mild contraction in October after returning to expansion the previous month, official data showed on Saturday.

The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) for the manufacturing sector fell to 49.3 in October from 50.1 in September, slipping below the 50-point mark that separates expansion from contraction, the National Bureau of Statistics said.

Key segments of the manufacturing sector continued to expand, highlighting the resilience of new growth drivers. The PMI for high-tech manufacturing came in at 51.3 in October, while that for equipment manufacturing stood at 50.6.

Meanwhile, the subindex tracking manufacturers' expectations for production and business operations stood at 53.4 in October, well above the 50-point mark, indicating that manufacturers remained relatively upbeat.

Huo Lihui, an NBS statistician, attributed October's weaker PMI reading partly to demand pulled forward ahead of the National Day holiday and a volatile global environment.

The production subindex fell to 49.8 in October from 51.7 a month earlier, while the new orders subindex dropped to 49.4 from 50.5, the NBS said.

Meanwhile, China's non-manufacturing PMI, which tracks the services and construction sectors, edged down to 49.7 in October from 50.2 in September. The services PMI stood at the 50-point threshold, indicating stable activity.

The country's official composite PMI, which tracks overall output in both the manufacturing and non-manufacturing sectors, fell to 49.7 in October from 50.7 in September, NBS data showed.