The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for China's manufacturing sector stood at 52.1 percent in June, down 1.8 percentage points from last month, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said Thursday.

The PMI includes a package of indices to measure manufacturing sector performance. A reading above 50 percent indicates economic expansion, while that below 50 percent indicates contraction.

It was the 16th straight month that the index was above 50 percent.