TAIPEI, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Taiwan's manufacturing sector contracted for a fourth consecutive month in February due to weaker global demand and the Spring Festival holidays, according to a leading economic think tank.

The monthly composite index for the manufacturing sector in February had a "blue light," which that signals contraction, even though it increased slightly by 0.26 points from a month earlier to 10.18 points, according to a report from the Taiwan Institute of Economic Research (TIER) Friday.

Under TIER's five-color system to assess the sentiment of the manufacturing sector, a blue light (10.5 points and below) indicates contraction, yellow-blue light (10.5-13) means sluggishness, green light (13-16) signals stable growth, yellow-red (16-18.5) suggests fast growth, and red light (above 18.5) represents prosperity.

The barometer has remained in the contraction field since November 2018, after being sluggish for five months after June last year.

About 69.11 percent of manufacturers covered by the think tank's monthly survey had a blue light in February, compared with 60.17 percent in January, while 21.13 percent had a yellow-blue light, down from 33.55 percent in January.

No manufacturers had a red light for prosperity, with 7.79 percent showing stable growth, and 1.97 percent fast growth.