China's manufacturing expanded at a faster pace last month, indicating a recovery in the world's second-largest economy is sustaining momentum.
The Purchasing Managers' Index was 50.9, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in Beijing, an 11-month high and up from 50.1 in February.
A separate gauge from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics rose to 51.6 in March from 50.4. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
Gauges of output and export orders advanced in the official survey while an index of input prices declined, a boost for new Premier Li Keqiang as he seeks to spur expansion without fanning inflation.
The March improvement follows the weakest January-February growth for factory output since 2009 and Goldman Sachs's questioning of the strength of exports.
"We are clearly in a lot better state than we were at the end of last year," Alistair Thornton, a Beijing-based economist at researcher IHS, said, terming the momentum "modest."
At the same time, the economy faces "fairly large headwinds" including property curbs and tighter supervision of so-called shadow banking, he said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index of stocks fell 0.1% at the close.
The gauge dropped 3.9% last week, the most in five weeks, while the yuan strengthened for a fifth straight week and touched a 19-year high.
Growth Pickup
Economic growth may have accelerated for a second quarter to 8.1% in the first three months of this year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey last month.
Gross domestic product expanded 7.9% in the final three months of last year after a 7.4% gain in the previous quarter, reversing a seven-quarter slowdown. Previous figures have presented a mixed picture of the recovery so far this year.
Retail sales had their weakest January-February growth since 2004, while foreign direct investment rose for the first time in nine months in February and industrial companies' profits gained 17.2% in the first two months of the year.
The official PMI report showed improvement across sub-indexes. An output gauge rose to 52.7 in March from 51.2 in February, new orders increased to 52.3 from 50.1 and new export orders climbed to 50.9 from 47.3. Input prices, a measure of inflation, declined to 50.6 from 55.5.
Push for Reforms
Goldman Sachs said in a research report last week that China's export statistics probably overstated growth in the last few months, potentially because companies provided inflated data.
The federation in January had increased the number of companies in its survey to 3,000 from 820 and reclassified the industries they cover into 21 groups from 31. HSBC's index is based on responses from purchasing managers at more than 420 businesses and is weighted more toward small companies.
Li signalled last week that the government will take steps this year to loosen state control over interest rates and the yuan as part of efforts to sustain economic growth.
"China will actively push forward reforms in important sectors and try to make substantial progress," the state council, or cabinet, said in a March 27 statement after a meeting led by Li.
The government will also work out a plan for fiscal and tax policy changes this year. Great Wall Motor, China's biggest maker of SUVs and pickup trucks, reported that its profit surged to a record of $916 million last year, helped by demand for its Haval vehicles.
indiatimes.com
The Purchasing Managers' Index was 50.9, the National Bureau of Statistics and China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said in Beijing, an 11-month high and up from 50.1 in February.
A separate gauge from HSBC Holdings Plc and Markit Economics rose to 51.6 in March from 50.4. Readings above 50 indicate expansion.
Gauges of output and export orders advanced in the official survey while an index of input prices declined, a boost for new Premier Li Keqiang as he seeks to spur expansion without fanning inflation.
The March improvement follows the weakest January-February growth for factory output since 2009 and Goldman Sachs's questioning of the strength of exports.
"We are clearly in a lot better state than we were at the end of last year," Alistair Thornton, a Beijing-based economist at researcher IHS, said, terming the momentum "modest."
At the same time, the economy faces "fairly large headwinds" including property curbs and tighter supervision of so-called shadow banking, he said. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index of stocks fell 0.1% at the close.
The gauge dropped 3.9% last week, the most in five weeks, while the yuan strengthened for a fifth straight week and touched a 19-year high.
Growth Pickup
Economic growth may have accelerated for a second quarter to 8.1% in the first three months of this year, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey last month.
Gross domestic product expanded 7.9% in the final three months of last year after a 7.4% gain in the previous quarter, reversing a seven-quarter slowdown. Previous figures have presented a mixed picture of the recovery so far this year.
Retail sales had their weakest January-February growth since 2004, while foreign direct investment rose for the first time in nine months in February and industrial companies' profits gained 17.2% in the first two months of the year.
The official PMI report showed improvement across sub-indexes. An output gauge rose to 52.7 in March from 51.2 in February, new orders increased to 52.3 from 50.1 and new export orders climbed to 50.9 from 47.3. Input prices, a measure of inflation, declined to 50.6 from 55.5.
Push for Reforms
Goldman Sachs said in a research report last week that China's export statistics probably overstated growth in the last few months, potentially because companies provided inflated data.
The federation in January had increased the number of companies in its survey to 3,000 from 820 and reclassified the industries they cover into 21 groups from 31. HSBC's index is based on responses from purchasing managers at more than 420 businesses and is weighted more toward small companies.
Li signalled last week that the government will take steps this year to loosen state control over interest rates and the yuan as part of efforts to sustain economic growth.
"China will actively push forward reforms in important sectors and try to make substantial progress," the state council, or cabinet, said in a March 27 statement after a meeting led by Li.
The government will also work out a plan for fiscal and tax policy changes this year. Great Wall Motor, China's biggest maker of SUVs and pickup trucks, reported that its profit surged to a record of $916 million last year, helped by demand for its Haval vehicles.
indiatimes.com
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