(Yicai Global) May 31 -- Activity in China’s manufacturing sector fell for the third month in a row in May, remaining in contraction territory for a second straight month, as domestic and global demand weakened.

The manufacturing purchasing managers’ index fell to a five-month low of 48.8 this month, down from 49.2 in April, data released today from the National Bureau of Statistics showed. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. The PMI was 51.9 in March, 52.6 in February, and 50.1 in January.

Of the five sub-indexes forming the PMI, only supplier delivery times stood above 50, rising 0.2 point to 50.5. The production, new orders, raw material inventory, and employment sub-indexes all fell.

The PMI for small enterprises dropped 1.6 point to 47.7 in May from the month earlier, while that of medium-sized firms fell 1.1 point to 47.9. The PMI of large enterprises was 50.

The non-manufacturing PMI was 54.5 percent in May, down from 56.4 in April, the NBS said, indicating a fifth straight month of expansion in services, while the business activity indexes for the construction and service sectors slipped to 58.2 and 53.8, respectively.

The non-manufacturing PMI’s new orders, input price, and sales price sub-indexes declined month-on-month and stood below 50. The employment sub-index rose 0.1 point to 48.4.

The composite PMI output index dropped 1.5 point to 52.9 last month from April, as company operations continued to pick up.

Editor: Martin Kadiev