China PMI of Manufacturing Sector Rises to 53.2% in June

BEIJING, July 8 -- China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said that the Purchasing Managers' Index of China's manufacturing sector stood at 53.2% in June. The figure was up 0.1 percentage points from May when the index fell 0.4 percentage points from the previous month.

    A reading of above 50 suggests expansion while below 50 indicates contraction.

    The PMI includes a package of indices that measure economic performance. The survey, conducted by the National Bureau of Statistics, covers purchasing and supply managers at more than 700 firms across China.

    The output index was 57.1% up by 0.2 percentage points from a month ago. The new order index fell to 55.5% from 56.2% in May and 56.6% in April. The purchasing price index climbed 4.7 percentage points to 57.8% the seventh monthly increase since December.

    Mr Zhang Liqun a researcher with the Development Research Center of the State Council said "That the PMI index has remained above 50 indicates the country's economy is continuing to improve."

    China gross domestic product growth was 9% in the Q3 last year then slumped to 6.8% in the Q4 and to 6.1% in the Q1 in 2009.

    (Source: Xinhua)