HSBC Flash China PMI at two-year high
24 Jan 2013
Growth in China's manufacturing sector picked up to a two-year high in January, according to a preliminary private survey with manufacturers taking more local and foreign orders in an encouraging sign for economic revival for the country.
The HSBC flash purchasing managers' index (PMI) was up at 51.9 in January, the highest since January 2011 and above the 50-point level that pointed to accelerating growth in the sector from the previous month.
The PMI, the earliest preview of China's economic health in 2013, comes as the latest indication that the world's second-largest economy was on the recovery track after a near two-year cool-down.
According to Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC, despite the still tepid external demand, the domestic-driven restocking process would likely add steam to China's ongoing recovery in the coming months.
The data was welcomed by Asian investors.
According to HSBC, the sub-indices for output, new orders and employment that accounted for three quarters of the flash PMI all improved in January to hover above 50.
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