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China's manufacturing activity shrinks as exports drag, S&P PMI shows
China's factory activity deteriorated in July, as a softening of new business growth led manufacturers to scale back production, a private-sector survey showed on Friday. The S&P Global China General Manufacturing PMI fell to 49.5 in July from 50.4 in June, undershooting analysts' expectations of 50.4 in a Reuters poll. The 50-mark separates growth from contraction. The reading, combined with Thursday's official survey, bodes ill for growth momentum at the start of the third quarter, following robust growth in the first half of the year. Amid a trade truce with Washington, economists say the support of exports ... (full story)