China sees slow June factory growth as trade tensions with US escalate

credit growth, investment and retail sales pointing to slowing growth in China's economy

Growth in China's manufacturing sector slowed in June after a better-than-expected performance in May, official data showed, as escalating trade tensions with the United States fuel concerns about a slowdown in the world's second-biggest economy.

China's economy has already felt the pinch from a multi-year crackdown on riskier lending that has driven up corporate borrowing costs, promoting the central bank to pump out more cash by cutting reserve requirements for lenders.
 

The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) released on Saturday fell to 51.5 in June, below analysts' forecast of 51.6 and down from 51.9 in May, but it remained well above