Asia Viewpoint: by Ma Dongwei

According to the National Bureau of Statistics of China, the country′s purchasing managers index (PMI) for manufacturing in July fell from the previous month but still showed an expansion. The PMI for three major benchmarks decreased but remained in the expansion zone for 17 consecutive months.

The PMI for manufacturing in July was at 50.4%, down 0.5 percentage points from the previous month. The PMI for non-manufacturing commercial activity slipped 0.2 percentage points from the previous month to 53.3%. The sub-index for commercial activity in the services sector was at 52.5%, up 0.2 percentage points from June. The overall composite PMI in July was at 52.4%, down 0.5 percentage points from June.