China's factory growth seen easing only marginally in February – Reuters poll

The results of the latest Reuters poll of 29 economists showed that a majority of them see the Chinese manufacturing sector activity to deteriorate slightly this month, although remain at healthy levels, despite long Lunar New Year holidays and a tough pollution crackdown.

Key Findings:

“The official manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI)is expected to have dipped only slightly to 51.2 in February from January’s 51.3, according to a median forecast of 29 economists in a Reuters poll.

That would mark the 20th straight month of expansion for China’s manufacturers, and reinforce consensus views that the world’s second-largest economy will only see a modest slowdown in growth this year. 

Economists polled by Reuters expected China’s economic growth will moderate to around 6.5 percent this year from a forecast-beating 6.9 percent in 2017 as the property market cools and as authorities press ahead with a clampdown on riskier financial activity that is driving up borrowing costs.“