Recent studies have shown that China’s manufacturing activity has expanded for the first time in six months in June. The private study adds to the evidence that the world’s second-biggest economy is stabilising.
The HSBC/Markit Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) rose from 49.4 percent recorded in May, to 50.8 percent in June. Exceeding the 50 percent mark indicates expansion from contraction, the study states.
As a result of this growth, the Australian dollar rose a quarter of a cent against the US dollar, whilst Asian stocks widened their gains with Australia’s benchmark index leading gains by 0.7 percent. The survey also showed an across the board improvement in China’s vast factory sector, with most of the 11 sub-indices accelerating from previous months.
In recent months, Chinese authorities have rolled out a series of modest economic measures, referred to as a “mini stimulus,” to support growth in the world’s second-largest economy, which included a cut in the level of reserves for banks that lend to the farming sector and small-and-medium-sized firms.
Premier Li Keqiang said last week that China’s economy would not suffer a hard landing and would continue to grow at a medium to high pace in the long term without strong stimulus.
