Robotic arms assemble engines on an assembly line at a workshop of the Weichai Power Co., Ltd. in Weifang City, east China's Shandong province, April 22, 2021. (GUO XULEI / XINHUA)

BEIJING - China's manufacturing activity expanded for the 16th consecutive month in June but at a slower pace due to chip and power supply shortages and minor resurgence of COVID-19 in certain areas, official data showed.

The purchasing managers' index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector came in at 50.9 in June, slightly down from 51 in May, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed.

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

The sub-index for new orders was up by 0.2 percentage points to 51.5 in June, which shows that the market demand in the manufacturing sector continued to grow

China's manufacturing sector continued to expand steadily with the PMI still in the expansion zone, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

The sub-index for production stood at 51.9, down 0.8 percentage points from a month earlier, indicating a slowdown in the expansion of production.

Zhao attributed the ease in production at some companies to constraining factors such as the chip shortage, inadequate supply of coal and power, and the maintenance of equipment.

"The production and new order indexes of the vehicle manufacturers have contracted for two months," said Zhao, adding that factors, including the chip shortage, have brought negative effects to industry development.

The sub-index for new orders was up by 0.2 percentage points to 51.5 in June, which shows that the market demand in the manufacturing sector continued to grow.

The new export order index stood at 48.1 this month, down by 0.2 percentage points from the previous month, indicating that overseas orders declined during the period, while the import index contracted by 1.2 percentage points to 49.7.

Driven by market demand and mid-year consumption promotion campaigns, the PMI for consumer goods manufacturing rose to the highest point in almost five months.

Meanwhile, a sub-index of the June PMI has shown that the quick price rise of some raw materials in China has initially been curbed.

The purchasing price index of major raw materials has declined to 61.2 this month, down by 11.6 percentage points from May, as China has taken a slew of measures to guarantee the supply of raw materials and stabilize the price.

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Non-manufacturing PMI dips to 53.5

Meanwhile, the PMI for China's non-manufacturing sector came in at 53.5 in the same month, down from 55.2 in May, NBS data showed.

Expansion of the non-manufacturing sector continued to gather momentum but at a slower pace, said NBS senior statistician Zhao Qinghe.

In June, the sub-index for business activities in the services sector stood at 52.3, down 2 percentage points from that in May.

Zhao said that the sporadic resurgence of COVID-19 cases in the country has weighed down the services sector, but the above-expansion-zone reading still pointed to steadily reviving business activities in the sector.

Boosted by the "618" online shopping festival, sectors including express delivery, telecommunications and satellite transmission, software and information technology saw their sub-indexes for business activities stay at above 57, indicating rapid growth of business volume in these areas.

READ MORE: Services PMI on recovery path

The sub-index tracking business activity expectations for the services sector hit 60.4, remaining above 60 for five consecutive months, showing that most service enterprises are optimistic about market prospects.

NBS data also showed the strong performance of China's construction industry as building activities continue to grow at a fast pace, with the sub-index for business activities standing at 60.1 in June, unchanged from that in May.