Chinese Manufacturing Decreased in May

Chinese manufacturing weakened in May, the seventh consecutive month the figure has been in the red, according to a preliminary reading of the HSBC manufacturing purchasing managers index that was released Thursday.

The index dropped to 48.7 for the month, indicating that part of the economy is shrinking at a faster pace than in April, when the figure was pegged at 49.3. Any reading below 50 indicates contraction from the previous month.