China’s manufacturing sector expanded at a slower pace in January as a seasonal slowdown, Covid-19 outbreaks and a housing market drop dragged activity at small firms to the weakest since the depth of the pandemic. The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index declined to 50.1, the National Bureau of Statistics said Sunday, just above the median estimate of 50. The non-manufacturing gauge, which measures activity in the construction and services sectors, fell to 51.1, also marginally above the consensus forecast. The 50-mark separates expansion from contraction. Chinese factories often see a production lull in January and February as workers head home for the Lunar New Year holidays. Activity has also been affected this year by the government’s orders for steel plants to trim output to reduce air pollution ahead of the […]