China Caixin Manufacturing PMI at 51.1... Highest in 13 Months

A private indicator reflecting China's perceived economic conditions rose to its highest level in 13 months.

On the 1st, Chinese economic media Caixin reported that the March Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI), surveyed jointly with credit rating agency Standard & Poor's (S&P), recorded 51.1, up 0.2 points from the previous month (50.9). The figure exceeded market expectations (51.0) and marked the highest level since February last year (51.6).

[Image source=AP Yonhap News]

The PMI statistics, based on surveys of corporate purchasing managers, indicate economic trends in the relevant sector. A value above 50 signifies economic expansion, while below 50 indicates contraction. Caixin's manufacturing PMI has shown an expansion phase for five consecutive months since last October.

Earlier, China's National Bureau of Statistics announced that the official manufacturing PMI for March rose 1.7 points from the previous month to 50.8. This marks the first time in six months since September last year (50.2) that the manufacturing PMI has exceeded the baseline, returning to an expansion phase. The non-manufacturing PMI released on the same day also recorded 53.0, surpassing both the previous month's figure (51.4) and market expectations (51.3). Numerically, this is the highest level in nine months since June last year (53.2).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.