Sales by China's major excavator producers continued to rise in the first two months of the year, but at a slower pace, according to China Construction Machinery Association.

Twenty-five leading excavator makers sold 21,800 digging machines for January-February, up 14.3 percent year on year, compared with an increase of 189 percent during the same period of 2017.

A total of 19,270 excavators were sold in the domestic market during the period, up 7.9 percent from a year earlier, while overseas sales more than doubled to 2,524 machines.

In February alone, total excavator sales fell 23.5 percent from one year earlier as a week-long Spring Festival holiday shortened working days.

Sales of digging machines are a indicator of the vitality of an economy as demand for them is usually backed by growth in mining and infrastructure development.

The manufacturing purchasing managers' index, a gauge of manufacturing sector activity, expanded at a slower pace of 50.3 in February, from 51.3 in January and 51.6 in December.

Source: Xinhua