BEIJING - China's machinery sector showed signs of recovery in the first half of 2016, according to an industry association Tuesday.

The China Machinery Industry Federation (CMIF) said the sector's value added in the first six months expanded 7.8 percent, faster than 5.7 percent in the same period last year and 5.5 percent for the whole 2015.

Profits of machinery manufacturers increased 6.53 percent, up from 0.13 percent for the same period last year and 2.5 percent for the whole 2015.

"The performance was better than we expected at the beginning of the year," said the CMIF vice president Chen Bin, attributing the improvement to the auto and electrical equipment sectors.

Investment grew just 3.07 percent from January to June, the lowest H1 expansion since 2008. The slowdown was in line with the deceleration in China's total investment in this period.

Sluggish demand for machinery will continue due to downward pressure on the broader economy and overcapacity reduction in other industries, said Chen, who believed large inventories and anemic foreign trade will also weigh on results.