Business

Published: Wednesday August 1, 2012 MYT 10:55:00 AM

China HSBC PMI hits 49.3 in July, output rosier


BEIJING: A contraction in China's factory sector activity eased in July as output picked up for the first time in five months even as orders stayed under pressure, a survey showed on Wednesday.

The HSBC Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) rose to a seasonally adjusted 49.3, its highest level since February. The reading was little changed from a flash, or preliminary, estimate of 49.5 and was higher than 48.2 in June.

The HSBC finding painted a different picture than China's official PMI, released earlier on Wednesday, which slipped to 50.1 in July from 50.2 in June, as most major sub-indexes fell.

Nonetheless, July marked the ninth straight month when the private-sector PMI was below 50, the threshold dividing expansion from contraction.

In the HSBC survey, the output sub-index rose to 50.0 for the first time since February. In contrast, the output sub-index in the official survey weakened to 51.8 from 52.0 in June. - Reuters

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