China Aug factory activity contracts

Beijing: China´s manufacturing activity contracted for a fourth month in a row in August, official data showed on Saturday, as the US stepped up tariff pressure and domestic demand slowed.

On Sunday, the US is expected to hit billions of dollars worth of Chinese products with 15 percent duties, in a sharp escalation of a bruising trade war. It is the first of two rounds of new tariffs.

So far, Washington has imposed tariffs on some $250 billion worth of Chinese goods, while Beijing has retaliated with tariffs on $110 billion worth of US products including soybeans and apples.

The Purchasing Managers´ Index (PMI), a gauge of Chinese factory conditions, dipped to 49.5 for the month, slightly down from July´s figure of 49.7, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). The reading falls below the 50.0 mark separating expansion from contraction. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg had predicted a reading of 49.6.