Chinese manufacturing declined in January

China’s manufacturing sector recorded its first decline in six months, according to the latest HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) figures.  

The final PMI for January came in at 49.5, down from a score of 50.5 last month, where a reading below 50 points indicates a deterioration in conditions.  

“A soft start to China's manufacturing sectors in 2014, partly due to weaker new export orders and slower domestic business activities during January,” HSBC chief China economist Hongbin Qu says.  

“Policy makers should pay attention to downside risks and pre-emptively fine tune policy to steady the pace of growth if needed.”

This article first appeared on StartUpSmart.