BEIJING — The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.1 in August, but still in the expansion zone, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Aug 31.

A reading above 50 indicates expansion, while a reading below reflects contraction.

The PMI reading edged down from 50.4 in July, due to factors such as domestic COVID-19 cases and the flood situation in recent days, Zhao Qinghe, a senior NBS statistician said on Aug 31.

The sub-index for production stood at 50.9 in August, down 0.1 percentage points from a month earlier, indicating the stable expansion of production in the manufacturing sector.

During the period, market demand has weakened with the sub-index for new orders down 1.3 percentage points from the previous month to 49.6, according to the data.

The data also showed that the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 47.5 in August, down from 53.3 in July.