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The
official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index, or PMI,
climbed to 50.1 from 49.8 in August, China’s National Bureau of
Statistics said Wednesday. The index reading, based on an
official monthly survey of companies, was in line with what
economists had expected.
PMI is measured on a scale of between 0 and 100 and a reading
above 50 reflects an expansion.
Several subindexes remained in expansion territory. The subindex
on production rose to 51.7 from 50.4 in August. The subindex on
new orders was at 50.5, down slightly from 50.6, while new
export orders eased to 50.0 from 50.1.
A separate private survey, the RatingDog PMI, also showed
China’s manufacturing PMI advanced to 52.1 in September from
51.5 in August, indicating improvements in the manufacturing
sector.
Wednesday’s reports came ahead of China’s weeklong October
national holiday in which domestic consumption and spending are
closely watched by policymakers.
They also followed new key measures announced in China on
Tuesday to support its economy, including new subsidies for
Chinese homebuyers’ mortgage interest payments.
China’s economy has been under growing pressure of a slowdown as
domestic demand and investment remained sluggish, in part hit by
weaknesses in the property sector, even as the global artificial
intelligence boom has buoyed Chinese exports of high-tech goods.
“Manufacturing has been a relative strength this year, though it
has mostly been driven by external demand as domestic
consumption and investment lag,” Lynn Song, chief economist for
Greater China at ING Bank, wrote in a commentary.
Some economists believe China is on track to surpass last year’s
record $1.2 trillion trade surplus. Recent improvements in
U.S.-China relationships, including a two-month extension of a
trade truce between the two superpowers until January, are
likely to help improve bilateral trade.
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