BEIJING, Aug 1 Reuters China39;s factory activity swung to contraction in July, a private sector survey showed on Tuesday, with supply, demand and export orders all deteriorating as firms blamed sluggish market conditions at home and abroad.

The CaixinSP Global manufacturing purchasing managers39; index PMI fell to 49.2 in July from 50.5 in June, missing analysts39; forecasts of 50.3 and marking the first decline in activity since April. The 50point index mark separates growth from contraction.

The data was in line with the government39;s official PMI on Monday, raising challenges for policymakers seeking to revive momentum in China39;s postCOVID recovery amid high youth unemployment, mounting local debt pressure and weak demand.

The Caixin survey showed manufacturing output shrank for the first time in six months while new orders saw the quickest reduction since December. New orders remained unchanged at makers of investment goods, but fell at producers of consumer and intermediate goods.

New export orders contracted at the steepest pace since September 2022 amid weakening global demand.

Employment across the manufacturing sector fell for the fifth straight month in July, although the pace of job shedding eased from June. Lower payroll numbers were attributed to reduced sales and costcutting by factory owners.

After five months of improvement, supplier performance worsened slightly. Firms said a lack of stock at some vendors had impacted lead times as they adopted…