'APEC blue' hits November factory activity

PMI declines to eight-month low; employment component weakens

Clearing the air for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Beijing early last month meant closing many factories and construction sites, which left manufacturing activity almost stagnant, figures released by the National Bureau of Statistics and the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing on Monday show.

The November manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index slipped to an eight-month low of 50.3 from 50.8 in October, the agency said.