Russia's manufacturing sector continued to contract in February, but the pace of decline eased for the second consecutive month as new orders stabilised, S&P Global reported on Monday. The Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) for Russian manufacturing rose slightly to 49.5 in February from 49.4 in January. A reading below 50.0 indicates contraction, while a figure above signifies growth. This marks the softest downturn in a nine-month sequence of decline.