Beijing, Nov 11 (IANS): China's value-added industrial output expanded 5.6 percent year on year in October, slightly down from 5.7 percent in September, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Wednesday.

Year-on-year growth in the first 10 months stood at 6.1 percent, dipping from 6.2 percent in the first three quarters, reported Xinhua.

Manufacturing output expanded 6.7 percent, the same growth rate of the previous month. Mining output growth further slowed to 0.4 percent from 1.2 percent in September. Meanwhile, the output of the electricity, heating, gas and water sectors lost 0.3 percent, while September saw 0.7-percent growth, the bureau said.

The figures also showed that industrial output in China's central regions rose 7.7 percent in October year on year, followed by 7.6 percent in western areas and 6.5 percent in eastern regions. Industrial output in northeastern areas extended losses by 4.6 percent from 1.8 percent in September.

China uses value-added industrial output to measure the final value of industrial production, or the value of gross industrial output minus intermediate inputs, such as raw materials and labor costs.

The NBS data only track the output of large Chinese companies with annual primary business revenues of more than 20 million yuan ($3.14 million).