China’s factory activity continues expansion in sign of recovery

CHINA’S factory activity continued to expand in November, after a broad package of stimulus measures helped reverse months of contraction. 

The official manufacturing purchasing managers’ index was 50.3, the National Bureau of Statistics said on Saturday (Nov 30), above the 50 mark that separates expansion and contraction. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg was for a gain to 50.2 from 50.1 in October.

The non-manufacturing measure of activity in construction and services slipped to 50 in November from the October reading of 50.2. That compares with a forecast of 50.3. The composite index was unchanged at 50.8. 

China’s economy has been showing tentative signs of recovery after a broad package of stimulus measures including interest-rate cuts were announced in late September. 

Both official and private measures of October factory activity exceeded analyst expectations, while last month’s home sales rose for the first time this year. Infrastructure investment was steady and the urban jobless rate fell in October to the lowest in four months.

China faces new challenges win Donald Trump’s win in the US presidential election this month. His threat of steep tariffs on Chinese goods risks wreaking further havoc on the Asian country’s export sector, which already faces greater trade barriers from regions like the European Union. BLOOMBERG