The manufacturing activity expanded in May for the 15th straight month in China, according to an official gauge, although at a slower pace than in the previous month, showing that the government’s tightening measures, including a crackdown on the property market, are starting to impact manufacturing activity.

The Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) fell to 53.9 in May from 55.7 in April, the China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing, which issues the data with the National Bureau of Statistics, said in a statement yesterday. A PMI reading above 50 indicates growth, while a reading below 50 indicates contraction.

HSBC economist Qu Hongbin said the lower PMI reading “should be seen as positive as it implies that policy tightening is starting to take effect. China’s overheated growth is already starting to cool down.”

CFLP analyst Zhang Liqun said in a statement that relatively fast economic growth is likely to continue, but the rate of growth will likely fall. A slower rise in input prices in May “indicates that companies’ cost pressures will fall somewhat,” he said.

The input prices sub-index fell to 58.9 in May from 72.6 in April. The new export orders sub-index fell to 53.8 in May from 54.5 in April, and the imports sub-index fell to 50.9 from 53.1.

So far this year, the People’s Bank of China has raised the reserve requirement ratio, the amount of their deposits that banks must put aside in reserve, three times.