Chinese manufacturing expansion slowed in October after two consecutive months of acceleration, official data showed Tuesday, as weak demand weighed on the world's second-largest economy. The manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI), a gauge of factory conditions, stood at 51.6 in October, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said, compared to 52.4 in September, which marked a five-year high.
Anything above 50 is considered growth while a figure below that number points to contraction. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News had expected a reading of 52. "Softer domestic demand was the main culprit" behind the slowdown, Julian Evans-Pritchard of Capital Economics said in a research note. 
October's week-long National Day holiday slowed down production and new orders growth, and energy and pollution-intensive industries shifted peak load or reduced production due to tightened environmental controls in some regions, NBS analyst Zhao Qinghe said in a statement.