A private sector PMI survey by the credit research and rating startup RatingDog was more upbeat, with September’s overall PMI rising to 51.2 from 50.5 in August. The mixed manufacturing measures reflect persisting sluggish domestic demand and uncertainties over trade tensions with the United States. China’s official manufacturing PMIs first slipped back into contraction in April as trade friction with U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration heated up after he took office. Some economists are hoping a rate cut by China’s central bank by the end of the year could encourage more spending and investment. This month, the People’s Bank of China left its key lending rates unchanged following the U.S. Federal Reserve’s first rate cut of the year.