China's industry contracts for seventh consecutive month

China's Purchasing Manager's Index (PMI) which measures the trend of industrial activity, showed the secondary sector contracted in February for the seventh consecutive month.

According to data issued by China's National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on Tuesday, the PMI for the non-manufacturing sector came in at 52.7 in February, down from 53.5 in January, Xinhua news agency reported.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below 50 represents contraction.

The service sector sub-index stood at 52.2 in February, down 0.5 points from January, the data showed.

Businesses related to retail, travel, post and catering services expanded in February, thanks to the Chinese New Year holidays in early February, NBS statistician Zhao Qinghe said.

The sub-index for new orders settled at 48.7, down 0.9 points from last month, showing dwindling demand in the non-manufacturing sector.

The non-manufacturing PMI tracks business activities of both the service sector and the construction industry.

The sub-index for construction activity slipped to 55.2 in February, down 2.6 points from January, due to weak demand.