Data on October 31 also showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 52.4 in October, down from 53.2 in September.
In October, the sub-index measuring purchase prices of major raw materials rose by 8.6 percentage points from September to 72.1, while the ex-factory price index climbed to 61.1, up 4.7 percentage points from last month, an official news agency reported.
The sub-index for production retreated 1.1 percentage points to 48.4, while that for new orders dropped 0.5 percentage points to 48.8.
The figures showed that production and market demand in the manufacturing sector both weakened last month, said Zhao.
ALCHEMPro News Desk (DS)
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