China manufacturing contracts for a 4th straight month in January
A survey of factory managers in China released Wednesday shows manufacturing contracted in January for a fourth straight month, reflecting weak demand and a faltering recovery in the world’s second-largest economy. The official purchasing managers index, or PMI, rose slightly to 49.2 in January from 49.0 the month before. The manufacturing PMI has fallen in nine of the past ten months, rising only in September.