Reuters: China July factory growth cools slightly as export orders ease

Growth in China's manufacturing sector slowed marginally in July, reinforcing expectations that the world's second-largest economy will cool in coming months as borrowing costs rise and regulators clamp down on riskier types of financing. The official Purchasing Managers' Index stood at 51.4 in July, down from the previous month's 51.7 but still well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis. Analysts surveyed by Reuters had forecast that the reading would come in at 51.6, little changed from June.