BEIJING, March 31(Reuters) - China's manufacturing
activity expanded at slower pace in March, official data showed
on Friday, suggesting hopes of a strong post-COVID economic
recovery are faltering amid weaker global demand and a continued
property market downturn.
The official manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI)
stood at 51.9, against 52.6 in February, according to data from
the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), above the 50-point mark
that separates expansion and contraction in activity on a
monthly basis.
That slightly exceeded expectations of 51.5 tipped by
economists in a Reuters poll. The February figure had grown at
the fastest pace in more than a decade.
China's economic activity picked up in the first two months
of 2023 as consumption and infrastructure investment drove a
recovery after the end of COVID-19 disruptions and retail sales
swung back to growth.
(Reporting by Liangping Gao and Ryan Woo; Editing by Jamie
Freed)
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