Chinese manufacturing unexpectedly contracts as services growth slows

China's manufacturing sector has contracted for the first time in four months, while growth in the services industry eased significantly, as private-sector activity began to slow ahead of the Lunar New Year.
According to the government's official Bureau of Statistics, the manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) dropped to 49.1 in January from 50.1 in December.
This was the first time below the neutral 50-point mark since September; analysts were expecting another month of growth with a reading of 50.1.
The index measuring manufacturing output declined to 49.8 from 52.1, new orders declined to 49.2 from 51.0, while buying activity slipped to 49.2 from 51.5.
In the services sector, the non-manufacturing PMI slipped to 50.2 from the nine-month high of 52.2 registered in December, with both foreign sales and domestic orders both contracting.
The overall composite PMI fell to 50.1 from 52.2 the month before, missing the 52.1 consensus forecast, marking the lowest level of private sector activity growth since August.