China’s manufacturing activity shrank in January – the sixth consecutive month of such sectoral contraction, the Chinese National Bureau of Statistics said on Monday.

The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) for manufacturing stood at 49.4 in January, compared with a reading of 49.7 a month earlier. Any figure below 50 suggests contraction while a reading above that number indicates expansion.

The January index showed the lowest reading since August 2012, reported state-run news agency Xinhua, adding: “China’s economy is at pains to seek new growth engines”.

Zhao Qinghe, a senior statistician at the bureau, said in a statement accompanying the results that the contraction in January was due to the nation’s ongoing campaign to reduce excess capacity. The economic uncertainties in both local and overseas markets also dampened the demand, he added.

On Monday the statistics bureau also announced that the PMI for non-manufacturing business activity slipped to 53.5 in January from 54.4 in December.