China March Factory Activity Seen Contracting for Fourth Month

China March Factory Activity Seen Contracting for Fourth Month
A worker directs a crane lifting steel rails at a steel factory in Handan, Hebei Province, China on Nov. 23, 2018. Reuters
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BEIJING—Factory activity in China likely contracted for a fourth straight month in March, a Reuters poll showed, suggesting the economy is still losing steam and adding to worries about faltering global growth.

A downbeat reading, coming on the heels of the sharpest fall in industrial profits in at least 7 years, would underline the need for more stimulus as Beijing struggles to right the economy and end a bruising trade war with the United States.