2011-07-01 14:30

BEIJING - The manufacturing sector expanded at its slowest pace in 28 months in June, with the Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) falling 1.1 percentage points month-on-month to 50.9 percent, according to the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing (CFLP).

It was the third consecutive month of decline for the PMI, a gauge of of the manufacturing expansion, in China, as the government fights soaring prices by withdrawing liquidity from the market.

The PMI figure was 52 percent in May, 52.9 percent in April, 53.4 percent in March, 52.2 percent in February and 52.9 percent in January.

A reading above 50 percent indicates economic expansion. One below 50 percent indicates contraction. China's PMI has stayed above the boom-or-bust line for 27 months in a row.