A key gauge of China's factory activity lost ground in February, extending a January drop and falling to a seven-month low, signaling further weakness in the world's No. 2 economy.
一项衡量中国制造业活动的关键指标在2月份出现下滑，延续了1月份的下降势头并创下七个月新低，这预示中国这一全球第二大经济体将进一步走软。
The data unnerved Asian markets shortly after its release on Thursday, though analysts cautioned that seasonal factors such as the timing of the Lunar New Year holiday probably played a role in the result.
周四该数据公布后不久，亚洲市场一度躁动不安，但分析人士提醒道，春节假日的时间等季节性因素很可能对制造业数据产生了影响。
The preliminary HSBC China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index, a gauge of nationwide manufacturing activity, fell to 48.3 in February from 49.5 in January, HSBC Holdings PLC said Thursday.
汇丰控股有限公司(HSBC Holdings PLC, 简称：汇丰控股)周四公布，2月份汇丰中国制造业采购经理人指数(PMI)初值为48.3，低于1月份的49.5。
A reading above 50 indicates expansion from the previous month, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.
该指数高于50表明制造业活动较前月扩张，低于50则表明制造业活动萎缩。
The reading follows similarly glum results from January. Both the official and the HSBC manufacturing PMI readings lost ground then, with the HSBC index showing contraction.
2月份制造业数据延续了1月份的黯淡表现。1月份中国官方制造业PMI和汇丰制造业PMI均有所下滑，其中汇丰PMI还显示制造业萎缩。
Economists said the result likely indicates a slowdown in the final part of last year is continuing into this year, reinforcing the view that this year's growth in gross domestic product will likely trail last year's 7.7%. China's economic growth slowed in the final quarter of last year, also to 7.7%, from 7.8% in the third quarter, amid a combination of weak domestic demand and a still- recovering global economy.
经济学家们说，最新制造业数据可能表明去年年末制造业的下滑势头延续至今年，这强化了人们对于今年国内生产总值(GDP)增幅可能低于去年的7.7%的看法。去年第四季度中国经济增速也有所回落，从第三季度的7.8%降至7.7%，主要受国内需求疲软以及全球经济仍在复苏当中的共同影响。
'There is continued downward pressure on the economy,' said Ding Shuang, an economist at Citigroup. 'Economic growth will continue to decline to 7% over the next two quarters.'
花旗集团(Citigroup)经济学家丁爽说，中国经济持续面临下行压力，未来两个季度经济增速将进一步回落至7%。
'We reiterate our view that the recovery in China is not sustainable and that GDP growth will slow to 7.5% year-over-year in the first quarter and 7.1% in the second quarter, despite favorable base effects,' said Zhiwei Zhang, an economist at Nomura.
野村(Nomura)经济学家张智威说：“我们仍认为中国的经济复苏不可持续，今年第一和第二季度GDP同比增幅将分别回落至7.5%和7.1%，尽管基数效应有利。”
The weakness in China's economy hit markets. The Australian dollar weakened to $0.8957 from $0.9004 shortly after the data announcement. Australia is a major supplier of resources to fuel China's economic growth. Hong Kong's benchmark stock index was down 1.6%.
中国经济的低迷表现对市场构成冲击。上述制造业数据公布后不久，澳元一度从0.9004美元跌至0.8957美元。澳大利亚是中国经济增长所需资源的主要供应国。香港股指跌1.6%。
All of the subindexes of the PMI showed weakness, with new orders, new export orders and employment declining, according to HSBC.
汇丰称，所有PMI分类指数均显示中国制造业疲软，其中新订单、新出口订单和就业分类指数均有下滑。
The preliminary PMI figure, also called the HSBC Flash China PMI, is based on 85% to 90% of total responses to HSBC's PMI survey each month, and is issued about one week before the final PMI reading.
汇丰制造业PMI预览指数是根据每月采购经理人问卷反馈总样本量的85%-90%为依据编制的，于PMI终值发布前一周左右公布。